Silver
by FantasyMythos
Summary: Ice Silver got transferred to Beacon Academy in the middle of the year. There she meets an old friend and new people. This plays after episode one of volume 2. It mostly follows the plot till now but that will change in the future. Mention of Ladybug and other pairings. (The old chapters got edited)
1. Chapter 1

**This story starts in volume 2. Fore the background story of my OC Ice Silver I made some things up. You will find a place named 'Tenebra'. This is the name I gave the dragon-shaped continent in Remnant. (Am I the only one who things the kingdom of Mistral looks like a women?) For the name I translated the word 'darkness' in latin. If its wrong its the translators fault.**

 **Update: I'm redoing the chapters of this fic with the help of my very nice beta reader ****NightLocker. Thank you for putting up with me.  
**

 **I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

Team RWBY was on their way to class, when Ruby nearly ran into a person after sprinting ahead, rounding a corner. She hastily apologized and continued her way, zipping down the hall.

"Something wrong?" asked Yang her partner.

"No." Blake answered. "Just thought I noticed something familiar."

* * *

RWBY sat with JNPR during lunch. Weiss looked up and saw a stranger approach, their hands tucked in the pockets of their blue pants. They stood at around five-foot-nine and wore boots with metal plates, the blue pants, a belt, a white hoodie, a brown leather strap around their torso with a spaulder on their right shoulder and bracers over the sleeves. With the hood up and their head bowed, their face remained mostly hidden, looking quite suspicious.

"Still always wearing the bow?" They asked, standing behind Blake. She turned. Her brows furred before realization showed on her face.

"Still didn't ditch the hood?" She gave back.

The person smiled. "Some habits are hard to break." They returned.

Jaune leaned to Ruby, who sat next to him, and whispered. "Who is this guy?"

"Don't know. But he looks suspicious."

"Yeah. Nearly scary."

Noticing the hushed conversation the stranger spoke to all of them. "Sorry. Where are my manners? I'm Ice Silver. But people usually call me Silver." Everyone except Blake at the table introduced themselves.

"What are you doing here, Ice?" Blake asked.

"You could say I got transferred here." Silver explained.

"In the middle of the year?" This time it was Ruby's voice.

"Yes, there were some troubles at my old school that made it difficult for me to stay."

"What troubles?" Jaune wanted to know.

"Some things having to do with me being a faunus."

"So this is how you know Blake!" Nora stated.

Silver glanced at Blake. She didn't saw it because of the hood but know Ice was looking at her. She answered the silent question. "They know." Ice nodded at her before turning her gaze to Nora.

"It has something to do with it. Now if you would excuse me. I still have things to do." she gave the group a toothy smile. From the shadow of her hood it looked quite scary. Especially with her sharp canine like teeth. Ruby shuddered.

"Scary." She commented after Ice left. Everyone nodded in agreement. Jaune looked terrified, his face was white as a sheet.

Weiss spoke up. "So who exactly was this?"

Blake sighed. "You could say we were childhood friends."

* * *

The next day team RWBY met Ice again. They were sitting in the classroom when she walked by their seats. "Looks like some things still haven't changed one bit." Blake commented on Silver's appearance.

Ice wore the boy's school uniform. From one of the layers under the jacket came a hood and hide her face. "Surprised?"

"No. Not really." To which Ice hummed in acknowledgment.

Shortly after, Professor Port came into the classroom. "Good Morning, class. As you might have noticed we have a new student since today. If you would like to introduce yourself." He motioned towards Ice with his hand before stepping back.

Ice stood up. "My name is Ice Silver. I will attend Beacon Academy from today on." She sat back down after her short introduction, leaving no time for questions and all the time for stares.

Professor Port began to start his lessen but stopped shortly after. Clearing his throat he spoke; "Miss Silver, would you please take your hood off?" Nearly everyone in class locked slightly confused at their teacher.

"Sorry. I tend to forget about it." She said and took the hood of. The class started mumbling. The absent of the hood revealed silver hair tied back in a bun, yellow eyes and clearly feminine features with two scars. One split her right brow. The other scar was on the left side of her lips. On top of her head a pair of silver wolf ears. A slit in the side of the left one.

"Wait! Silver is a girl?!" Yang asked surprised. Blake just rolled her eyes at her team mates.

"Obviously." Weiss commented. "But I thought faunus' have just one animal trait. Why does she have two?"

"Faunus' do usually have just the one trait. Ice is the only one with two that I know of. But I never heard of a silver wolf faunus either before I meet her." Blake told.

Professor Port asked for silence and continued his class. Which turned out to just be him telling stories of his glory days, of course.

On their way to the next lesson Jaune asked Ice. "Why the boy's uniform?"

"I don't like skirts." She responded back.

"But you looked cute in one." Blake commented, giggled. The wolf faunus shot her a glare but the pink hue on her cheeks made it less intimidating.

"They were all looking funny at me back then." She mumbled a little embarrassed.

"That was because this was the first and only time they saw you dressed as a girl." The black haired girl explained.

"And nearly every boy tried to flip that damn skirt." Ice complained.

Blake sighed. "You got a point there."

"Skirt or not, you look much less scary without the hood." Nora chimed in.

At that comment Silver flashed a toothy grin. "What do you think is the point of it?" The sight of the canines and the tone of her voice let Jaune, Ruby and Nora shudder. Silver's grin turned into a smile with less sharp-looking teeth. "It is a useful addition. It keeps people away."

"Why would you want that?" Yang asked. The silver wolfs smile faded and she showed a hard expression.

"Many reasons." Her tone of voice declared the end of this conversation.

The others looked at each others but decide not to probe.

* * *

At lunch they all sat together. This time with Sun and Neptune. They were first surprised by the hooded stranger. Ice had the habit of putting the hood back on without even noticing. The members of RWBY and JNPR had to remind her of it before she got into trouble with the teacher. Sometimes the wolf faunus caught herself when unintentionally reaching for the hood.

"You said you were transferred here, Ice. Which Academy did you attend before?" Pyrrha asked.

"Onyx Academy." Came the short answer.

The others blinked at that. Jaune was the first to speak. "Never heard of it."

"Me neither." Yang told. The rest of the group shook their heads.

"Would've surprised me. It was the same for me before I got there." Ice told them.

"That makes no sense. Why would you go to an Academy you never heard of?" The suspicion was clear in Weiss` voice.

"Because the headmaster took me under his wing after I found myself in Tenebra."

"Tenebra?! Every attempt colonization failed. No one lives there." Weiss claimed.

"Oh there is. Most part of the continent has a high Grimm population but there is a secure area with a few cities and villages. Nothing too big. They live pretty isolated there. Only a handful of people know of them." The wolf faunus disagreed.

"You have to be kidding." Sun said. "That can't be true."

"It is. It wasn't planned but I somehow found my way to Tenebra. And then Bark found me." She gave a very short retelling.

"Bark?" Pyrrha asked.

"The headmaster of Onyx Academy."

"How is life in Tenebra?" Ren wanted to know.

"They keep contact with the kingdoms at a minimum. Never more than needed. Their culture is different to ours but similar enough to adapt easily, despite not having a proper government. The largest city there isn't really big. But all in all live isn't that different. If you aren't a faunus, that is." The last sentence was mumbled under her breath. Which was why only Blake with her faunus hearing caught it. She asked about it. "Why is that?"

"Like I said…" Silver began but was cut of by Blake.

"Why is it different for faunus?"

Ice sighted. She had hoped nobody would hear. "Because people from Tenebra have a… different view on faunus'."

"Do they treat faunus badly?" Ruby asked.

The wolf girl laughed dryly at that. The hood hiding her bitter expression. "Don't humans treat faunus' bad everywhere? ...But it's not that easy. It's not like they hate faunus' or see them a lesser being. It's…it's more like the opposite. You could almost say they… worship the faunus'… in some way."

"Than why not stay there?" Neptune inquired.

"I would rather work for Schnee Dust Company than go back to Tenebra." Ice looked at Weiss. "Sorry."

"Now I'm confused." Ruby stated before Weiss could say something. "Why don't you want to be there when they worship faunus'?"

"They have a sick way of doing it." Disgust and anger clear in the silver wolf faunus voice.

"How's that?" Sun asked.

"This isn't something to talk about while eating. Or at all." The anger didn't hide the sadness in her voice.

The other people on the table just looked at Ice for a moment.

"Oookaaayy. Soooooo what is with your team?" Ruby changed the theme.

"I don't have one." Silver answered.

"You can't be serious! Everyone has a team!" Weiss` disbelieve was obvious.

The silver haired girl just shrugged. "That's the problem. Everyone already has a team. I'm the odd one out."

"She did come to Beacon in the middle of the year. So there is no team partner left." Pyrrha noted.

"My point." The silver wolf said.

"Wait!" Sun got their attention. "Did you just say 'she'?"

"Yes." Pyrrha answered.

"Silver is a girl?!" Neptune and Sun asked in disbelieve. "But…?"

Nora and Ruby were snickering at the two boy's dumbfounded expressions.

"The uniform? I prefer pants." Ice stated.

A twitch under the hood could be noticed before she stood up. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" The wolf faunus took off in direction of team CRDL.

Yang nudged Ruby, who sat next to her. "This ought to be good."

CRDL were bullying Velvet again. Cardin was pulling on her bunny ears. The other three were laughing and making fun of her. Sky noticed Ice approaching first. He nudged Cardin and pointed at her.

"And who are you?" The leader of CRDL asked, still holding onto Velvet.

She ignored his question. "Looks like you are having fun. Let me join in."

"Isn't this the new one?" Sky recognized her. "And isn't she a faunus?"

The last sentence was a little late. Ice had already reached Cardin, who still held the bunny faunus' ear. The wolf girl grabbed the team leader's ear. Hard. "You've stopped laughing. Why?" She pulled his ear. "Isn't this such fun?" She grinned a little, a twinkle in her eye.

"Why, you bitch!" Cardin hissed through gritted teeth.

"It looks like it hurts. Does it?" She was still slightly grinning.

He glared at her. His team mates not sure what to do.

"I think it does. And I'm sure the girl whose ear you're pulling thinks so too. So why don't you let her go?" Ice now showed a hard expression.

"Fuck you!" He growled and gripped Velvet's ear harder. She whimpered.

"That wasn't nice." Silver pulled stronger, nearly ripping his ear of. Cardin let go of the bunny faunus and screamed from pain. The silver-headed girl stopped pulling.

"That wasn't so hard, was it? Now how about an apology?" She taunted him.

The boy slapped Ice's hand away. "You stupid bitch!" With that he charged at her. The wolf faunus just sidestepped and tripped him. Cardin fell face first into a table. His team members rushed to his side. The onlookers laughed at his expenses.

The redheaded boy refused the help from his team and stood up. "You will pay for this!" He spat pointing at Ice before leaving with his team.

"What an asshole." She mumbled before turning to Velvet. "You okay?"

Velvet nodded but couldn't say anything because of a blonde brawler.

Yang grinned and put an arm around Ice's shoulder. "This was awesome, Silver! This scumbag deserved this. But next time let me join in, yeah?"

"I can't see where I stopped you from doing so." Silver pointed out.

"True." The blond admitted.

"Eh, thank you for your help. Silver, right?" Velvet said.

The hooded girl smiled at her. "You're welcome. I can't let a fellow faunus down, can I?"

"Sadly not everyone thinks so." The brunette smiled back. "I'm Velvet. Nice to meet you."

"Nice meeting you too. Say, does this happened often?"

The bunny faunus looked to the ground. That was answer enough.

The silver head looked thoughtful. "I see. So I just got on the bad side of the school bullies. That could get fun."

"Don't worry. You have us on your side." Yang cheered her up. Or would have, if it were necessary.

"It's no problem. I've gotten myself in worse situations. We should head back though. Classes start soon."

* * *

The group had combat classes by professor Goodwitch after lunch break.

"Now Miss Silver, why don't you demonstrate us your fighting skills today." It wasn't a question.

Ice sighed. "Against who?"

Goodwitch scanned her class, looking for a volunteer.

"I want to fight her." A familiar voice said.

"Very well, Mister Winchester."

* * *

 **This is my first fanfiction and English is not my first language. I hope you still enjoyed it. Feel free to point out mistakes. I can't learn from them if I don't know where I made them.**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter has a short fighting scene in it. It gave me some problems but I hope it still ended up okay. So please enjoy.**

 **Update: Thanks to ****NightLocker for helping me edit this chapter.  
**

 **I don't own RWBY just my OC Ice Silver.**

* * *

The wolf girl sighed again. On her way down she met Cardin. "I will get you back for earlier!" He seethed, clearly still pissed.

"I'd like to see you try." She shot back before going to change into her combat clothes. It was the outfit she wore the day before.

Ice waited for Cardin to change too. She stood relaxed in the arena hands in her pockets as Cardin stepped into the arena, mace in hand. Her laid back attitude only seemed to irritate him more.

The second Goodwitch started the match, Winchester charged at the faunus, his mace bearing down upon her. Ice snapped her foot up, blocking it with her boot. They remained locked for a short moment before she pushed him away. Cardin staggered back but Ice followed quickly and kicked him in his chest, sending him flying.

Cardin got back on his feet. This time he circled her. Silver didn't even try to keep sight on him, his heavy foot steps easy to detect.

He attacked from behind, aiming at her head. She bent forward to dodge the strike and kicked in his stomach in the same motion.

Angered, Cardin stormed at her again. Ice sidestepped and gave a low-kick in the back of his knee. He fell to his knees and she rammed hers into his stomach. Cardin bent forward winded, and Silver thrust her knee in his face, sending him backwards. The wolf faunus put her boot on his throat. The leader of CRDL lie helpless on his back. He didn't have enough aura to fight anymore.

"Looks like I overdid it a little." Silver said while looking at his bloody nose.

"The victor of the match is Ice Silver." The professor announced.

Silver stepped back hand still in her pockets. She had showed off a little and didn't take them out even once.

Cardin stood up and growled at her. "How dare you make me look like a fool?!"

She just ignored him, got changed and headed back to the others. Goodwitch called the next students down.

After she got back Ruby nearly jumped at Ice. "This was so awesome. You totally kicked his ass, Silver. And you didn't even use a weapon or your hands. And you finished Cardin of so quickly. This is soooo cool." Her eyes were sparkling.

"It was quite impressive." Pyrrha agreed.

"I'm not sure but I think Silver is blushing." Yang teased.

Ice snorted. She was blushing under her hood but the others didn't need to know. "Come on. It wasn't that hard."

"As much as I hate to admit it but Cardin can take a punch. So it is impressive how fast you ended it." Weiss spoke up.

"Yeah. But we should stop praising her. We don't want the success to get to her head." Yang said.

Silver just rolled her eyes. Not that anyone could see it. So she took her seat next to Yang. The brawler grasped at the wolf faunus hood to put it down. Before she reached the fabric, her wrist was grabbed. Both girls looked at Silver's firm grip. "Sorry. It's a reflex." Ice said and let go of Yang's wrist before putting her hood down. She had a sheepish look on her face. The others looked at her strangely.

"So when ever someone tries to grab your hood you stop them?" Yang asked. Silver nodded. She didn't like the sly smile on the blonds face. "Has someone ever managed?"

"In some fights. But not for years otherwise."

"Then I will be the first." Yang declared.

* * *

Over the weeks Yang, Ruby, Jaune and Nora tried to grab Ice's hood without success. Nora talked Ren into trying once. Even with his ninja skills he didn't manage. But the steady remainder helped the wolf faunus with her habit. She always took her hood down when entering a building and she didn't put it up so often anymore. Intentionally and unintentionally.

They were at the trainings ground. Silver watched team RWBY and JNPR sparring. Blake against Ruby, Yang and Weiss, Ren and Nora and Pyrrha had just defeated Jaune the second time.

"I… I just need a short break. Okay? I'd be right back." He sounded depressed.

"Okay. I'm waiting" And Pyrrha looked sad. She sighed and sat down next to Silver.

"Jaune is an idiot." Ice simply stated.

"He is a nice guy and works hard to do better!" The redhead defended him.

Silver didn't disagree. "I know. He is a good guy but still an idiot."

"And why do you say that?" There was still a hint of anger in Pyrrha's voice.

"He has a smart and beautiful girl like you head over heels for him and doesn't know it. I mean you're dropping enough hints and not even subtle but he doesn't even notice that he is making you sad. Worse yet, he sometimes just overlooks you and pins after a girl whose not only not interested but obviously into someone else." The wolf faunus explained.

"You're talking about Weiss and Neptune?"

"Weiss may be crushing on him a little but I meant someone else."

"Who?" The amazon was clearly curious.

Silver nodded in the direction of Weiss and Yang who were now arguing.

"Yang? You can't be serious!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"I find it quite obvious. But you have to take into account that Weiss is a tsundere." The faunus explained.

Pyrrha looked back to the pair. Yang had a sly smile on her face and Weiss was scowling. But by looking closer a light blush was noticeable. Her lips were sometimes twitching upwards too.

"Okay. Now that you pointed it out, I can see it too." Pyrrha said. "So what about Yang?"

"Well, that is much harder too say. She flirts with many people but I think she is doing it more with Weiss. She is also teasing her quite often. But I'm really not sure about her. Her sister is by far easier to read." The silver head told.

"Ruby? She has a crush too?" Pyrrha looked shocked. Ice rolled her eyes at that. Visible this time because she wasn't wearing her hood.

"I didn't say that. But yes she has and it is quite obvious." Ice said a little amused.

"Really? Who?" The amazon asked.

"You seem really interested in gossip. Hadn't thought that of you." Ice teased.

"Is it wrong if I want to know what is going on in my friends' lives?"

"No. But if you want to know you should pay more attention to them. Not just Jaune." It was mumbled under Silvers breath.

"I…" Pyrrha was shocked. "I…"

Yellow eyes widened as the wolf faunus noticed her mistake. She said that out loud. "Sorry! I didn't mean it that way! I-"

"No. You are right. I should be more attentive."

Ice looked at her feet feeling guilty for what she said. The redhead looked at her. She felt bad for making friend feel that way.

"So, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked to lift the mood.

"Oh yeah. Just look over to her." The faunus was relieved over the change of topic.

The amazon did just like asked. Blake and Ruby had finished. Ruby was beaming at Blake and blushing horribly at her price.

"Blake? But thinking back on their interaction it is obvious." Pyrrha admitted.

"Yeah. I think every member of team RWBY knows. And Blake is leading her on. She and I made a bet. Ruby has till Monday after the dance to confess, if not Blake will. But the last few days something else is bothering her. So I'm not sure how thing are going." Silver reported.

"But Blake likes Ruby?" The amazon wanted to confirm.

"Yes, she does. I just hope things will go smoothly." The silver haired girl was a little concerned.

Ren and Nora came over to the two girls. "We're heading back to the dorm. Are you still waiting for Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Yes, I am. See you two later." Pyrrha answered.

After Nora and Ren were gone Ice spoke again. "But you noticed what's going on between this two, right?"

"I thought they were a thing at first but Nora keeps denying it. So I'm not sure."

"As far as I can see it they're not together. But the way Nora says it, it's clear she wants them to be. She's waiting for Ren to confess. The fact that he has put up with her so long could mean he likes her too. At last that's what I think." Silver explained.

Pyrrha sighed. "Looks like they all found their partner."

Yellow eyes looked at her sympathetically. "My situation is as bad as yours if not worse."

"You have someone you like too?" The amazon was surprised.

"Yeah. And like your case my crush is head over heels for someone else." Silver barley managed to hide the sadness in her voice.

"You know this for sure?"

It became more difficult to hide her emotions. "Yes. She has eyes just for him. She even admitted it. What makes my situation worse is the fact that she is straight. Sun must have it just as bad."

"Sun has a thing for Blake I take it? And your crush is a girl?"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it. So why hide it?" She shrugged. "And yes, Sun likes Blake." Silver said nonchalantly, despite how she felt.

"I don't have a problem with it. And you can't decide how you feel for someone. Even if they don't return your feelings." The amazon said sadly but then curiously asked. "But… who is it?"

"Not telling you." Silver said teasingly.

"You know who my crush is. It would be fair." The redhead tried to reason.

"It's obvious who you like. If you can't see who I'm interested in it can't be helped." She looked up. "Speaking of Jaune, he's coming back."

Pyrrha looked around. She could make out the blond coming in their direction.

"You know, when ever you feel down, you can come talk to me. I know it's not easy with Jaune but maybe, someday, he open his eyes and sees what he has. There is still hope." Ice offered an open ear.

The redhead stood up. "Thank you, Ice. I feel much better know."

Silver smiled at her. "You're welcome." She watched Pyrrha go over to Jaune. They talked shortly and started training again. The silver head sighed.

"Since when were you listening?" She asked the cat faunus who now stood not far from her.

"After the others left. That was shortly after Ren and Nora went."

Ice hummed in acknowledgment.

"You know you're just going to hurt yourself more?" Blake was concerned.

"I know."

"Than why are you doing it, Ice?"

"Because I want to support her." Silver said still looking at the tall redhead.


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter has a fighting scene too and there a more to come. Mostly sparring at the moment. Maybe I should change the genre. I mean this is RWBY after all. The romance will come more in the next chapter. Or more like unrequited feelings at the moment. It will take some time. But there will be a little fluff too. In the next chapter.  
**

 **Update: And the next chapter got updated with the help from ****NightLocker** **.**

 **I still don't own RWBY and never will.**

* * *

Ice knocked on team RWBY's door. It opened and she was greeted by an annoyed looking Weiss. This was nothing new. "Hello Weiss, is Blake there?" The white themed girl stepped back, revealing a Ruby peeking out from under the sheet that hung over her bunk bed. "Hi Silver!"

Yang lay in her bed reading a magazine, nodding her greeting. Blake was on her bed and looked up from her scroll.

Silver greeted the others before looking at Blake. "Hey Blake, I brought the book you lent me."

"Just put it on the shelf." She instructed.

Ice did just that and turned back to Blake, taking notice of how tired the faunus was. "Wow! When was the last time you slept? You look worse than after your… you know what I mean." She cut herself of.

"Ice, they know I once was a member of the White Fang. They are aware I did some questionable missions for them."

"And they took it easy?" The wolf girl looked disbelievingly at Weiss.

"Hey!" The heiress shouted indignantly.

"They did." The cat faunus confirmed. The wolf didn't need to know about the struggles they had.

"That's good to hear but what's keeping you up?" Silver asked, leaning against the bunk, only for it to wobble a little.

"You heard of the Torchwick guy?" Ruby inquired from her bunk, to which Ice nodded to.

"We had some encounters with him. He works with the White Fang. And now we want to find out what he's up to." The cloaked girl responded.

The silver wolf sighed. "Blake, I understand that you feel responsible but the way you go about it doesn't look healthy. Some things need time and a rested mind and body. There are things you can't force."

"Do you really understand?" Blake sounded annoyed.

Which annoyed Ice. "I think you forgot that I too was once a member. So yeah, I know. It took me years to leave that all behind me."

"Ohhhh. Now Silver's comment makes sense." Ruby exclaimed.

"Which exactly?" Her sister asked.

"The day we meet her. She told us that being a faunus had something to do with them knowing each other."

"And that is the first thing you think of after hearing she was a Wihite Fang member?" Weiss deadpanned.

"Why not?" Ruby asked.

Ice chuckled. "Okay guys, I'm going. I did what I came for. It's late so I think I'll skip this argument that seems about to happened. Try to get some rest, Blake."

With that she left with the argument building, hearing it through the door and down the hall.

* * *

Silver was with team RWBY, or at least most of RWBY. Blake was not there. Yang and Weiss were doing preparations for the dance and Ruby sat across from Ice at a table.

"Silver, can't you talk to Blake? You're childhood friends." Ruby wined.

The wolf faunus chuckled. "You seem very depressed for her not going to the dance. Is there a reason?"

The brunette blushed as red as her cloak as she sputtered. "N-No! I-I just want her to go."

Ice grinned wider. "Is that so?" She got serious. "But, to answer your question, I can't do more than you can. We were childhood friends but that was years ago. I think you know her better than I do now."

"That reminds me. You said you were members of White Fang together. What happened that you didn't leave together?" Weiss asked.

"We were both very young when we got into the White Fang. It wasn't so bad back then. There weren't so many kids our age so it wasn't a surprise when we became friends.  
But with the new leader things changed. The group became more violent. It wasn't what we wanted. So I decide to leave. We were twelve at the time. But Blake had something holding her there. I did not. So she stayed and I left." Ice told.

"Why did Blake stay?" Ruby wanted to know.

"Because of her mentor. For more information you have to ask Blake herself."

"You said you were twelve when you left. What did you do afterwards?" Yang chimed in.

"I lived on the streets for three to four years. I got into a lot of trouble. At one day I had to hide from some villains. I chose a bad hideout and ended up on an airship. It took me to Tenebra. My time on the streets is nothing I like to talk about." The wolf girl's tone was hard to read. The other three didn't ask further.

Ice sighed. "I should better go. I asked Ren to train with me. I don't want to be late."

The mood was still down after she went. Yang and Weiss continued to work and Ruby rested her head on the table, still gloomy because of Blake. At some point she was disrupted by Weiss asking which table cloth to pick.

* * *

Ren had left to shower but Silver stayed to train some more. That's when she noticed Sun and Neptune. They came over to her.

"Hey Silver, what's up?" Sun greeted.

"I'm just training a little. I have to do something productive after you guys left me out of the fun some days ago." She responded light-heartedly.

"Oh come on. We were nearly left out too." Sun throw his arm around her shoulder. "It wasn't our fault."

"Yeah, it was team RWBY's mission. We just happened to tack along." Neptune reasoned.

"I wasn't making accusations." Ice told and gripped Sun's hand as he tried to grab her hood. "You too?"

"Sorry. But after Yang made it a competition I wanted to take part." Sun explained. "You really can't stand it when somebody touches your hood, don't you?"

"That's not it. It was necessary and just became a reflex."

"Necessary?" The monkey boy wanted to know.

"To hide that I'm a faunus."

"Why?" He inquired.

Silver had a hard expression. "Sorry, but I'm not in the mood for horror stories."

"Horror stories?" The bluenette repeated. Both guys looked at each other. The silver head waved them off.

"Hey. You want to train with me. I wouldn't mind a little sparring." She changed the topic.

"You sure you can handle us?" Neptune questioned.

"We'll see." With that the wolf faunus got in her fighting stance.

"Without weapons?" Sun asked.

"You can use them if you want." Came the answer.

"Someone is getting cocky." The blond commented as he and his friend got ready.

Neptune changed his weapon in gun mode while Sun held his weapon in staff form. Neptune fired his gun at Ice. She dodged his shots and Sun's attacks, bringing the blond in Neptune's line of fire.

Ice blocked Sun's strikes with her bracers and countered with kicks. The monkey faunus blocked and dodged most of them. He changed his staff into nunchakus. Silver kicked one from his hand and caught it. She brought it over her head and deflected the bluenette's slash.

He had changed his gun in its guan-dao halberd form and swung it down on her. He didn't expect the girl to block it with his partner's weapon. She turned to him and at the same time took the nunchaku in one hand trapping Neptune's guan-dao halberd with the chain. She gave a swift but strong kick at his side and used his distraction to change places with him. He now stood were Silver was not a second ago, his back turned to her. She had his weapon still trapped so he couldn't use it to block Sun's attack that was meant for her. The blond couldn't stop in time and hit his partner.

Ice took the opportunity to land some kicks on Neptune. The bluenette activated the electricity of his guan-dao halberd. This forced her to release his weapon. Sun used this moment to get Jingu Bang back. Now Ice faced the two guys in close combat.

She mostly dodged their strikes and continued to use her arms to block and boots to attack. She not even once throw a punch. She took some hits but nothing too bad.

At some point Neptune stopped the fight. He and Sun were both exhausted. Their auras in the red. "Damn it! We didn't fought _that_ long. How can I be this exhaust? And my aura shouldn't be so low. Not already." Neptune complained.

"Yeah!" His partner agreed. "And why are you still in such a good shape, Silver?"

She showed her canine grin. With the shadow of the hood on her face it looked quite scary. The boys even shuddered.

"I work hard on my stamina." She explained in a teasing tone.

Sun rolled his eyes. "We too. So we shouldn't be so done for. At last not so fast. Sometimes it even felt like my Aura wasn't working right. It should have blocked your attacks better."

Silver was still grinning. "Stop complaining. We should head back. You two look like you need some rest"

Sun snorted. "As if."

But she was right. So the three of them headed back to their dorms.

* * *

Silver was on her way to her room when she saw Pyrrha. She sat not far from the dorms. The silver head smiled at the amazon. "Hey Pyrrha."

She looked up surprised. "Oh! Hello Ice. Sorry, I didn't notice you."

"It's okay. You look really down. What happened?" Ice asked concerned.

"It's… it's nothing."

"This is not 'nothing'. Something is bothering you. It's obvious. Is it because of Jaune?"

Pyrrha lowered her gaze. That was answer enough.

Silver sighed. "You wanna talk about it?"

"It's okay. I'm fine." The redhead tried to reassure.

"You're obviously not. I already told you I'm here for you. You don't have to bottle this all up, Pyrrha."

"I…" She trailed off and watched a group of students walk past them.

The faunus gave her a sympathetic smile. "Let's go somewhere else." She said and leaded the redhead to her room.

After they entered Pyrrha looked around. She never was in Ice's room before. It was the same size like the others in the dorm. It had the same furniture. Two of the beads were pushed together in on corner. The other two were made into a double bed in the corner next to the former. On the wall left and right to the door stood desks with chairs. Over the desks and beneath the window opposite from the door were shelves. They hade some books on them but nothing more.

"You have a double bed?" The redhead asked.

"One of the perks of having a room on your own. It wasn't hard to make." Ice told and motioned for her guest to take a seat.

Pyrrha sat on one of the unused beds. She watched as Silver took of her bracers and the leather strap with the spaulder. She set them on her nightstand before she removed her hoodie. Underneath she wore a dark grey shirt and a braided leather band around her left bicep. Fore a moment Pyrrha wondered why she wore it if it was normally hidden under her cloths.

The wolf faunus came over and let herself drop on the bed next to the amazon.

"So, what happened?" She asked.

"It's really nothing. Just something stupid." The redhead looked down. A gesture from the person next to her brought her attention elsewhere. A scar on the inside of Silver's left forearm, from her wrist nearly all the way to the crook of her elbow. It wasn't straight but a jagged line. For a moment Pyrrha asked herself were it came from.

Silvers voice brought her back to the matter at hand. "I don't think it's something stupid when it makes you sad."

Pyrrha sighed. "It's just… Jaune was talking with Ren over Weiss. He needed some advice. So I told him he should just be himself and talk to her. That's all about it."

Ice gave her a sympathetic smile. "To make the people we love happy we would do anything even if it means to sacrifice our own happiness. The problem with it is that it worries our friends. It isn't good for you but you don't care because you can see the person you like smile and that's what is impotent for you. Nothing else."

The redhead nodded.

"But" The wolf girl continued. "It isn't always enough. Maybe it isn't the same for you but sometimes I just can't stand to see the person I want to smile, smile at another person. Especially knowing that this person will make them sad again. It makes me want to talk some sense into them. The person I like because she hurts herself more by trying so hard for them. Not that I'm better. And the person she likes because they don't see what they have just before their nose and don't see how they hurt them. But the worst part about such situations is that it always gives me a stab in my heart and I can't help but feel angry and sad and hurt and jealous because she won't look my way like this."Her tone got sadder and angrier with her words.

Silver felt her nails dig into her palm. She relaxed her hands. "Looks like I was the one who needed to talk, doesn't it?" She asked sarcastic.

"Ice…" Pyrrha laid her hand on the girls shoulder. "It's alright. I know exactly what you mean."

The faunus composed herself quickly. "Sorry. I wanted to help you and now you have to cheer up me."

"Don't worry. That's what friends are for. And it is good to talk to someone who understands. It helps a lot."

"You just look like you're worrying more. I know I don't have a chance. I will get over it." The defied was clear in the silver wolf's voice.

The amazon thought it was a good idea to change the topic. "Will we see you in a dress tomorrow night?"

"If I come to the dance, it'll probably be in a suit than a dress."

"You are not coming?" Pyrrha asked surprised.

"I don't know. I don't have anyone accompanying me and I'm not the type for such events. Too many people at one place." Silver explained.

"It would be nice if you would come." The red haired girl attempted to convince her.

"We see. But it's rather late. We should head to bed. And I still need a shower." The faunus said, really considering changing her mind at the request from the girl next to her.

"You're right. I'll go back to my room. Thanks for talking with me, Ice."

"Every time. See you tomorrow."

After the amazon left, Ice sighed. What was she doing? Losing it like that in front of Pyrrha. She sighed again. It was pointless thinking about it now. The silver wolf faunus stood up and untied her hair before undressing and taking a shower. It would hopefully help her clear her head.


	4. Chapter 4

**I liked writing the dance-scene and found it really good but after I reread it later I wasn't so happy with it. Even after I edited it more than once I don't think I managed to really get the feelings across. I hope it's not too bad.**

 **Update:** **T** **he next chapter got edited.**

 **I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

"You guys are just in time." Yang greeted the arriving pair.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" One of the students from Mistral gave back while entering. Mercury, Ice believed his name was. He was with a green haired girl. The wolf faunus entered shortly after them and was greeted by Yang too.

"I had hopped to see you in a dress not a suit, Silver. But you look quite handsome." Yang complimented.

Said girl wore a black suit with silver lines and a silver bow tie. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail that reached just beneath her shoulder blades.

"I think I never saw you wearing your hair other than a bun but this look suits you."

Ice's light complexion made the pink hue on her cheeks easy to spot. She embarrassingly scratched the back of her head. "Thank you. You look beautiful tonight."

The brawler stepped from behind the podium and twirled once showing her white dress.

"Don't you think? I know I would be turning heads tonight but I didn't think yours would be one." The blond teased with a playful wink.

"I'm sure you are but not mine." Silver replayed slightly amused.

"What a shame but it can't be helped." The blonde replayed with fake disappointment before turning serious again. "Enjoy yourself."

"Not sure about it. I'm not a party person. But I try my best." With that Ice made her way into the ballroom. She saw Ozpin leave Ruby by herself, and Blake dancing with Sun. Poor boy. He was enjoying it so much but couldn't pick up that he had no chance.

Silver went to Ruby. "You don't really look comfortable." She skipped the greeting.

"Yeah. The shoes are killing me. How can anyone fight in something like this?" The brunette complained.

"Don't know but it must be possible somehow." The faunus sounded half serious.

"I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it."

Silver wore a sly smile as she leaned closer to Ruby. "Why not go take over for Sun?"

The brunette blushed at that. "W-What are you t-talking about?" She stuttered.

"Don't you want to dance with Blake? I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Ice teased future.

Ruby got redder. "W-Why would you say that? And it's not like I could dance with this heels anyway."

"You're not gonna deny it?" Now the wolf faunus could nearly see steam coming out of Ruby's ears.

She grinned at the younger girl's embarrassment. But something else caught her attention.

"I better leave you alone before you die from embarrassment." Silver said.

"That's not funny!" Ruby cried with a pout. She just got a smirk in return before the silver haired girl left.

Ice approached the girl in the red dress that got her attention. She had a blush on her face while she greeted her with a compliment.

"You look stunning, Pyrrha. The only thing that could make it better would be your smile. Why the sad face?"

The faunus watched with awe as the amazon's cheeks turned a light shade of red. "Thank you. You look quite dashing yourself, Ice. I didn't think you could pull of the suit so well."

Ice felt her face burn from the compliment but managed to keep her voice steady. "Thanks. But you didn't answer my question. Why the long face?"

"It's… It's just…" The redhead started.

"You wished you were here with Jaune, don't you?" Ice guessed.

Pyrrha sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Everybody can see you're feeling down. And if you know about your feelings for him it's easy to put one and one together. Wanna talk about it?"

"Thanks, Ice, but I think I'll pass this time. I… I just want to be alone for the moment."

"Okay. No problem." Silver had a hard time hiding her disappointment. She watched Pyrrha leave and sighed. Maybe she shouldn't have come. That wasn't a good idea. But just seeing the redhead in the formfitting red dress with the slit exposing her leg whenever she walked, Ice really wouldn't have wanted to miss that view.

She spent some time at the punch bowl, watching the dancers and other people. She spotted Neptune sitting with Weiss before laughter caught her attention. It didn't take long to make out the reason. Jaune was walking over the dance floor in a dress. Silver would have laughed if it weren't for what happened next. He was now speaking to Pyrrha. Seeing how he cheered her up was enough. It felt like somebody was squeezing Ice's heart in her chest. Of course he could lift her mood and make her laugh while Ice couldn't do a damn thing.

After team JNPR's dance performance the silver head decided she needed some fresh air. So she made her way to the balcony.

Before she stepped out she saw two persons there. Ruby and Blake stood on the balcony. The younger girl looked nervous. Silver thought it was better not to interrupt and watched instead.

"B-Blake, I-I wanted t-to tell you something." Ruby was stuttering.

Blake smiled at her. "What is it, Ruby?"

"I wanted… I mean… I…" The silver eyed girl's face was as read as her cloak. She took a deep breath. "I-I like you! I really like you! And not just as a friend! I know you probably don't feel the same way and it's alright. I just wanted you to know and-"

Blake stopped her rambling with a kiss. Ruby's eyes widened before she closed them. After a few seconds the cat faunus pulled back still smiling but with a light blush. "Took you long enough."

Ruby got even redder if that was possible. She looked surprised and confused but also happy. "Does that mean…?"

"Yes, Ruby, I like you too." The long haired girl answered calmly. Ruby beamed up at her. She looked like she would explode from happiness but suddenly became shy. "Can… can we kiss again?"

Blake looked embarrassed as she answered. "Y-yes." They both leaned in before closing their eyes and kissed again. It was a little longer than the first. Both girls were blushing madly.

Ice wasn't sure what to think. They had finely confessed but the fact that it was Ruby who did it first was not something to be happy about. At last not for her.

"Y-you want to dance?" Blake stuttered her question. Ruby was about to say yes but stopped herself. "I don't think I can do that with these shoes." She answered sheepishly. "Can we go back to our room together instead?" The younger girl asked.

Blake nodded. "If you don't want to stay."

"Then let's go!"

Silver took this as her signal to silently leave before these two would notice her.

The new couple passed her on their way down. Golden and yellow eyes meet for a second. The blackhead stopped Ruby. "Ruby, there is something I need to do. I don't know how long it will take so go on ahead of me."

The girl looked disappointed but nodded. "Okay. I… I wait for you."

Blake smiled at her. "Thanks. I come as soon as possible."

With this Ruby headed downstairs. She waited at the door for a moment. Considering waiting here but decided against it. She didn't know how long her girlfriend will take. She liked it. Girlfriend. The cat faunus was now her girlfriend. Just thinking about it made her giggly.

She was about to go to the dorms when she saw a figure in black run over the rooftops. After she sent Blake a short text she followed.

* * *

After she watched Ruby go, Blake turned around. She walked over to Silver, who stood at the railing and looked down at the dancers.

"I think I haven't seen you the whole night, Ice." Blake said and the wolf faunus turned her head to her but didn't reply. "You saw, didn't you?" The raven haired girl asked.

"Sorry. I didn't intent to but I just couldn't help it. I'm happy for you two."

"Doesn't look like it." The cat faunus remarked.

"I am. I really am. It's just…" The silver haired girl trailed of with a sight.

"It's Pyrrha isn't it?"

Ice sighed again and looked back down. The red hair was easy to spot. The amazon was still dancing with Jaune. The wolf girl felt the grip on her heart tighten as did her hands on the railing. The hurt must have shown on her face. Blake gave her a sympathetic look.

"Let's go somewhere we can talk." Blake said.

The two of them went out at the balcony. On their way Blake's scroll summed. She took a short look at it.

The music was just a quiet background noise for the faunus out here. The fresh breeze was a welcome change from the stuffy air in the ball room where a mix of sweat and different perfumes assaulted the wolf girl's nose.

They were silent for a few minuets, both not really knowing how to start this conversation.

"You know you can talk to me. You look like you really need it at the moment. I don't want to see my friend so down." Blake started.

Silver sighed. "I… I don't know were to start. It's just… seeing her with him is so hard. The way she looks at him, smiles at him, laughs at him. I wish she would do it to _me_! I know I should be happy for her and support her but it _hurts_ so much. _I_ want to be the one who makes her smile, makes her laugh. I want to be the one who makes her _happy_! But I can't! She wouldn't even notice me that way. She already likes someone else. I could never be more than her friend. No matter how hard I would try. But being close to her, seeing her happy with someone else. It feels like somebody is stabbing me with a hot knife. I… I just can't take it anymore!" Her tone became a mix between sadness, anger, and frustration before the later two faded. "But at the same time I don't want to lose her. I want to be with her even though it hurts so much. If I'm not with her it hurts too. I wish I could just stop loving her. It would make things so much easier. I don't know what to do anymore." Her voice broke at the end.

Blake took the girl in front of her in her arms. "This is the first time I ever saw you cry. No matter how the people treated you or how bad you were hurt you never cried. This must be really hard on you." Blake looked like it hurt her to see her childhood friend like this. "I wish I could do more for you."

Ice sobbed a few times before answering. "It's enough. I can't expect you to take the pain away. But it helps. At last a little."

After she cried some more Ice loosed the embrace and wiped her eyes. "Sorry I got your dress wet."

"It's okay." The raven haired girl said consolingly.

"I'm sorry for taking your time. You shouldn't' let Ruby wait longer."

"Don't worry. She sent me a message that something came up and I should take my time here." She comforted the silver wolf faunus.

Ice noticed the slight hurt in her friend's voice. "Knowing her it is something important or she wouldn't ditch you."

"You're right. Do you want to talk more about it or change the subject?" Blake brought the actual issue back up.

"I'm not sure. I just" Silver sighed. "I don't know."

Blake thought for a moment. "Say, what do you like about her?"

Ice leaned with her back on the railing, a wistful smile on her face. "There are many things. I mean have you seen her or were you too busy ogling Ruby?"

The cat faunus scoffed at that.

The girl in suit ignored her and continued. "Her figure, her hair, her face and her eyes." Her voice got dreamier. "Her deep, beautiful eyes. I feel like I could drown in them." Ice spoke normally again. "It's like her sheer presence required my whole attention. Just her silhouette in the corner of my eyes and I can't help but stare at her. Just hearing her steps come closer and my heart pumps faster. Hearing her melodic voice makes it skips a beat. And as alluring her body is her personality is too. She is kind and caring. She puts others before herself. Most times she is serious but also relaxed and has humor. I love the way she laughs."

"Sounds like you got it really bad for her. Are you sure you don't exaggerating it? The way you describe it I'm surprised you hid it all so well. I don't think anybody noticed." Blake commented.

Silver wasn't convinced. "Apart from you. I try really hard to keep it hidden. I don't want anyone to know. Especially her."

"I wish I could help you with it but…" The ravenette trailed of.

"I know, Blake. Thanks for listening to me rambling on and on about it." Silver attempted to smile but it wasn't convincing.

Blake still returned it. "Every time. But if you don't mind…"

"Of course. Go and have fun. I'm sure you can't wait to spend some alone time with your girlfriend." The wolf girl teased weakly.

The cat faunus hesitated. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes. Now go." Silver assured her.

"Okay. I hope you have a good night, Ice. See you tomorrow."

Silver didn't watch her leave. She turned to look out into the night. The sky was clear and the stars shining brightly. The moonlight gave of a romantic atmosphere. No wonder Ruby chose this place to confess.

Just after Blake left the balcony Silver heard her voice. "Hello Pyrrha. Nice dance performance earlier."

Ice felt her heart clench at these words. How long had the redhead stood there? Did she just come or had she heard their conversation? And if so, how much?

The amazon walked over to Silver and stood next to her. "Hey." She greeted tenderly.

The silver wolf continued to look at the stars and broken the moon. After a minute or so she spoke. "How long?"

"Since the beginning I guess." The red haired girl's tone not changing.

Silver bit her lip. Since the beginning. Pyrrha could only mean after she and Blake went to the balcony. It relieved Ice a little. Neither of them had said Pyrrha's name since then and she didn't really described her appearance.

"I saw your dance with Jaune. He even wore a dress for you. But his shoes really didn't match. I mean he doesn't have to wear heels but still."

"I don't think he has matching shoes." Pyrrha went with the obvious change of topic.

"He has a dress in his size but no matching shoes?" The silver wolf faunus asked skeptically.

The redhead giggled. "Okay. It sounds strange if you put it like this."

"But you're lucky. He made a fool out of himself just to cheer you up. Not many would do that." Silver attempted to smile. Useless effort. She still looked out into the night.

"It wasn't quite like this. A few days ago he said he would were a dress to the dance if I don't have a date. And nobody asked me." Pyrrha explained.

"No? I thought you were here alone because you wanted to go with Jaune but… Oh! I think I understand. I forgot you're quite famous for being a champion." It wasn't unusual for people to keep a certain distance from the ones they admirer.

"You forgot?" The champion sounded really surprised.

The faunus shrugged. "I don't care about things like that, Pyrrha. It easily slips my mind."

"That's nice to hear. I don't often meet people like that." The redhead answered her smile fading at the second sentence.

"That's a shame. But I think you found friends here that care about you and not your fame. Like Jaune."

Her smile came back. "I have. But not just Jaune. My other teammates too. And team RWBY and you."

"Looks like your feeling really better now. I feared you wouldn't enjoy your night today. You even got your dance with your crush, thought he wore a dress during it." The faunus tried to kept the attention from herself.

"I think I really would have preferred him in a suit but still. I did enjoy myself. But you didn't, did you?"

It didn't work.

Silver looked at her hands on the railing. "No. I…" She sighed.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" The champion questioned concerned.

The first things that came to the faunus mind were impossible so she just answered. "I don't think so."

Pyrrha thought for a moment. "I got my dance with Jaune. I may not be the person you want to but… do you want to dance?"

Silver glanced over to Pyrrha. "I don't feel like going down again."

"Then how about here?"

Ice finely turned to the redhead. "You're sure?"

The champion was confused by the question. "Why not?"

"Just us two, alone, on the balcony, under the clear night sky? Isn't that a little too cheesy? It's something you should do with Jaune, not me." Silver protested.

"Ice, you deserve at last one happy memory of this ball. It may not be perfect with me but it's the best I can offer. Even if the music is missing." How wrong she was. For the faunus it would be perfect. She wouldn't want to dance with anybody rather than the champion.

Silver looked at the girl in front of her, her ears twitching. "I can hear the music."

"Oh! Right."

The silver head smiled at Pyrrha and held her hand out. "May I have this dance?"

"I would be my pleasure." There was a light blush on the amazon's cheeks as she took the offered limb. Even thought it was calluses from a life as a fighter Pyrrha's hand was surprisingly soft.

Ice lead her a bit from the railing before twirling her partner in her arms and began a slow dance. Silver spun the redhead before going back to holding her close still in rhythm with the music only she could hear.

"After you said you don't like such events I didn't think you could dance so well." Pyrrha confessed.

The faunus laughed slightly. "And you still wanted to?"

"Like I said. I want you to have a good memory of the party. It seems to work. I think it was the first time this night you laughed."

Ice was still smiling at her. "It was. Thank you."

Being so close to her crush was intoxicating. The redhead wore a little perfume but being this close it was easy for the faunus to make out the scent under it. Jasmine and a faint hint of something that let Silver think of a comforting, warm fire. She liked it more than the perfume. It was unique and strangely relaxing. It was Pyrrha's scent.

Ice didn't take her eyes off of her for the whole dance. Seeing her crush like this, being so close, it made her heart race. Her fine features, her faint freckles on nose and cheeks, and her long lashes. Silver couldn't help but stare at her. She lost herself in this wonderful vivid green. Her smiling lips looked so inviting. The tip of Ice's tongue slide over her own. She really wanted to kiss the redhead.

With one final move the wolf girl ended the dance. She stepped back still smiling but her eyes and dropped ears gave away that something wasn't right.

"Ice?" Pyrrha asked carefully and concerned.

"Thanks for the dance, Pyrrha. Enjoy your night." Silver left with these words.

Not far outside the building she stopped. "Damn it!" She shouted and hit the wall next to her. What was she thinking? She shouldn't have let it come so far. She nearly _kissed_ her. How stupid could she be?

After some deep breaths Ice continued her way to her room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I updated later than usually but here is the next chapter.**

 **Update : And here is the next one.**

 **I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

"… But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." Ozpin ended his speech and left the podium. The students clapped before they scattered and searched for the first mission they would take. After some searching Ice decided on a search and destroy mission. The hunter she will follow would arrive tomorrow so she had the rest of the day off.

Silver was still in the amphitheater when she saw team RWBY getting their things. "You guys are leaving today?" She asked.

"Yeah. We will totally destroy some Grimm." Yang declared.

"Good to hear. Good luck on your mission." The silver wolf replied. Ruby thanked her before she, Weiss and Yang left. Blake stayed behind.

"So, what happened after I left?" She inquired.

"You mean yesterday? Pyrrha and I talked a little and danced together." Ice answered.

"You danced?"

"Yes. And she was so beautiful. How the moonlight shone on her. It was nearly perfect." Silver was blushing a little. She paused. "Then I felt the urge to lean in and kiss her so I more or less fled from there." The silver head summed up, her voice not showing her emotions.

"But you didn't, did you?" Blake was shocked.

"No! Of course not!" She paled at the thought but couldn't help imaging it. If it weren't for the fact that Pyrrha were into Jaune it was a really appealing thought.

"Okay. What do you plan on doing now?"

"Nothing. I can't change the facts. She doesn't like me that way and she's in love with someone else. There's nothing I can do." Ice answered dejectedly.

"You're right." The ravenette sighed. "I should better hurry. The others are waiting for me. Sorry I can't help you and I won't be there to listen to you for a while."

"Don't worry. I won't have too much time to think about it when my mission starts. Make sure you and your team come back in one piece." Silver said and watched Blake leave the amphitheater, waving goodbye. She totally forgot to ask Blake how her night went or why Ruby had a dog in her backpack.

Ice put her hands back in her pockets and was about to leave too when she ran into JNPR. Jaune was the first to say something. "Hey Silver, your mission starts tomorrow too?"

"Yes. You guys have any plans for today?" She replied.

"Pyrrha and I wanted to train. Want to come with us?"

Ice shrugged. "Sure."

Jaune looked at her strangely. "Something is different about you today but I can't point out what."

Nora leaned in, coming uncomfortably close to the faunus who leaned back. "He's right." The hyper active girl thought for a moment. "Your hair is different!" She exclaimed.

With the hood on the silver wolfs head it wasn't so obvious but some strands of her hair were peeking out which was normally not the case.

"Are you wearing it open?" The blond asked. Ice took her hood off. She had let her hair down.

"Why the sudden change?" Pyrrha wanted to know. "Not that it doesn't look good, it does. I am just surprised."

Ice blushed a little. "I wore it up so it wouldn't be seen. There's no need to hide it anymore so I decided to save the hassle of putting it up every morning."

Jaune looked confused. "Why did you need to hide it?"

"I had my reasons." Her tone made it obvious she didn't want to talk about that topic.

"Ehhh… so you wanna go?"

Silver nodded and they took off to the training ground.

The way to the training area was silent. Yellow eyes watched as the champion walked closely by the blond's side. It, as always, made her stomach tighten.

When they reached their destination, Pyrrha spoke. "Why don't you two fight first and I watch and see where you could improve?"

Jaune nodded and went to the middle of the fighting area. When he noticed that his opponent wasn't coming right away he started to stretch a little.

"I thought you would be the one fighting him." Ice commented.

"He and I fight quite often and I want to see how he can hold up against someone else. And I can fully concentrate on watching the fight this way." The redhead explained.

The faunus saw how green eyes glanced to the blond boy now and then. She tried to ignore the pang in her chest.

"You're sure you can concentrate with these two around?" Silver nodded in the direction of Ren and Nora. Nora was bugging him over some trivial things.

Pyrrha smiled. "Don't worry. They know to behave."

The wolf girl didn't say more after this. She decided she let her sparring partner wait long enough.

The blond knight didn't notice her approach until he heard her voice. "Let's begin!" Silver was only a few foot away from him. He quickly tried to pull his sword but got it just a few inches out of its sheath before Ice hit the knob of the weapon with her palm, pushing it back in. She took the opportunity to thrust her knee into his side and kicked at his head not even setting her foot back to the ground.

Jaune stumbled back and tried again to draw his sword but his opponent swiftly kicked his hand away. Clumsily, he throws a punch at her but she easily ducked under it.

Silver aimed at his feet from her lowered position. With a swift spin she kicked at them. The blond barely avoided it. He tried to hit her with his fist but his strike was leaning to the side, away from Ice, leaving himself open. She again used her knee. This time it connected with Jaune's stomach. He bent forward from pain but managed to block the next kick. The knight threw an uppercut and grazed Silver's chin. The silver wolf took a step beck but was still off balance. Her opponent quickly went for the next blow but Ice let herself fall backwards and kicked him in the process. To avoid hitting the ground, Silver planted her hands on the floor and swung her legs over herself and landed back on her feet. She didn't wait before attacking again. Her roundhouse-kick sent Jaune off balance. The next brought him to the ground.

The faunus didn't attack further. "Your hand-to-hand-combat sucks." She commented as the blond got back to his feet.

"If I could use my weapon I would have done better." He stated.

"Maybe but that doesn't help you if your opponent don't gives you a chance to use it." She informed him before demanding his weapon. "Give me your sword."

The knight hesitated for a moment before doing so. Silver fastened the weapon to her belt. She had one hand on the hilt and the other at the sheath. "I will draw the sword and you will do the same as I did at the beginning of this match." She instructed and began to draw the weapon.

Jaune pushed the sword back into its sheath like Ice had done. The moment his hand came into contact with the hilt the silver head unfastened the sheath from her belt and used the sheathed weapon to hit the blond. Now that it wasn't secured to her belt anymore she could easily pull the sword from the sheath. Ice changed her grip and stood with the sheath-turned-shield in front of her, the sword ready to strike.

"Your sheath is made as a shield. It is strong enough to use it to strike." She said and handed the again sheathed weapon to its owner.

Someone cleared their throat and drew the attention of the two fighters. Pyrrha stood next to them. "We need to work on his hand-to-hand combat too but I wanted to see how he improved with his sword. So if you could…" There was no reproach in her voice but Ice's ears still flattened against her head.

The silver wolf faunus scratched her neck sheepishly. "Sorry. The next round I'll let him use his sword."

"Your defense needs some work too, Ice. I saw more than one opportunity that could have lead to a severe injury" Pyrrha told her.

Silver nodded. "I'll do my best."

The next fight took longer and Jaune held himself better against the faunus with his sword and shield. He nearly landed a few hits but was still easily defeated by her. Every time she hit his shield she used her aura to make her kicks stronger, making the knight stumble back.

After the second match Pyrrha took over and showed Jaune how to improve his skills.

Nora skipped over to Ice. "You don't look too exhausted. Let's fight." She wore a big smile while saying this, her hammer, Magnhild, ready in her hand. The wolf girl agreed.

And that was a stupid idea. Nora swung her hammer wildly, keeping Silver at distance. Like this she wasn't able to do anything except from dodging. She had to change that. And from all the options she had to do so Ice chose the craziest.

The smaller girl shoot herself up in the air and back down, Magnhild aimed at Silver. But the faunus didn't step away. She stayed put, bringing her hands up and focused her aura to block the attack. Then the hammer came crushing down at her and the strike resonated trough her whole body. The ground under her feet gave in.

Team JNPR was staring in shock. Jaune had his scroll up and recorded the whole thing.

Ice didn't waste her time. Not a second after the weapon had stopped she acted, using the surprised state of her opponent. She didn't just kick the ginger haired girl but hooked her foot at the crook of her neck and crashed her in the ground with the momentum of her rotation.

The next moment Nora was unarmed and had Silver's boot at her throat. She tried to free herself but her air was cut of when she struggled, making her stop.

From her position at the floor the small girl could see Silvers face underneath her hood. She looked a little pained but wore a small smirk, her eyes twinkling. Ice stepped back from Nora.

After ending the recording, Jaune shouted at them. "That was absolutely crazy! You could have got seriously hurt, Silver! And what were you thinking, Nora, to use such an attack on a friend!"

"I thought she would dodge it!" The ginger head defended herself.

"You're right. This was crazy. I'll never do that again. How can such a small girl be so strong? Blocking that strike cost me even more aura than I thought. My arms still hurt." Silver looked at her feet. The ground had a crater with at last six feet diameter. "Seriously this strike could easily crush a human." She looked back up at the others. "I'm going get some rest. I think this nearly broke my arms." Ice made her way back without waiting for an answer. They wouldn't stop her anyway.

"I'm sorry." Nora called after her.

Silver waved her off. "It was my fault. I decide to take the blow and not dodge it."

* * *

 **I already wrote the next chapter but I don't like it. I'm going to edit it but inspiration left me so I don't know when it will be ready. I hope you can be patient with me.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it took so long. I tried but I just can't get this chapter right. Especially the first half or so. I'm not happy with it but no matter what it won't work. I'm missing the inspiration for this and lost my patience. I hope you can forgive me.  
**

 **Update: Only one more chapter to go.**

* * *

Ice woke up in cold sweat, panting heavily. The last memories of her nightmare were slowly fading. She couldn't say what she dreamed about exactly, but she remembered faces haunting her, the fear and the feeling of danger. She knows these emotions too well. She's had too much experience with them in her past.

With a glance at her alarm she checked the time. It was 5:21 in the morning, not worth going back to sleep.

After the wolf faunus took a shower, got dressed, and had breakfast she took the next bullhead to Vale. She had to look for a book and had enough time before her mission begun. At last her arms didn't hurt anymore. She felt relived that they didn't, otherwise they would've hindered her if they were still damaged.

This early in the morning, there weren't many people on the bullhead. The people on the streets were on their way to work and the shops were nearly empty. It was a good decision to get up so early.

"I am sorry. We don't have the book you are looking for." The women at the cash-register said.

"Okay. Thanks," Ice sighed. This was the fourth bookshop and still no success. Why was this damn book so hard to find? She was just on her way to the next store when she heard the alarm. The faunus ran in the direction of the smoke pillar.

Ice arrived shortly after team JNPR. She used her aura to charge into the Grimm that came in hordes. But she didn't have to worry too much about them because the Atlesian military arrived and CFVY took care of a big deal of these beasts – especially Coco. How could someone be so deadly with so much style?

Silver thought she would need to use her weapons but with everyone here, she was just fine the way she was.

After Glynda Goodwitch closed the opening where the Grimm came from and Torchwick was captured, the teams and teachers went back to Beacon.

The others had time to rest now but there was no such luck for the wolf faunus. The huntsman she'd accompany had arrived.

"I'm Leaf Baak. You'll follow me on this mission?" The man asked. He was about six foot tall with side cut, brown hair and forest green eyes. His cloths followed this color scheme and he had armor parts on his shoulders, arms and legs. On his back was a big double-bladed axe.

"Ice Silver." She introduced herself.

Leaf eyed her from head to toe before speaking again. "Where is the rest of your team?"

"I don't have one."

"You don't? You're not gonna tell me you're so good you don't need one, are you?"

"No. It's just because of certain circumstances."

"Good. If nobody else is coming we can go. The Grimm attack had cost us enough time. Get in the airship." He nodded in the direction of the airship behind him.

After they both got in and the airship had started, Baak explained the mission. "We have to take care of a pack of Beowolfs that took residence not far from a village. I want to end this fast but we will reach the village in the evening and it would be stupid to search for this pack by night. So we'll stay this night in the village and will take care of these Grimm by dawn. Understood?"

Silver nodded.

The rest of the flight they didn't say a word. After they landed Baak and Ice spoke with the village official and got a room where they could sleep. The faunus explored the village a little.

She was on her way back when she noticed a small shop that was still open despite the late hour. After stepping in, Ice greeted the shopkeeper and looked through the books. She was about to give up when an old one caught her attention. The title read, 'The Third Crusade', the book she was searching for earlier. Her jaw nearly dropped at the price and she cursed. It was a little fortune but she needed that book.

* * *

Baak and Silver got up earlier than Ice had the day before. The sun hadn't even begun to rise when they left to carry out the mission to take down the Grimm. But first they had to search for them. Problem was, the villagers only knew the rough direction. So the huntsman and the student searched the near forest for their target.

After half hour, Leaf had found a trace. He explained it to Ice and told her many indications of how she could find Grimm. Like a good teacher, he let her track down the pack, sometimes correcting her when she got something wrong.

It didn't take long to find the pack of Beowolfs. Leaf and Ice were observing them from a tree, where they counted a dozen Grimm.

"How about you show me what you can do, gal?" The hunter asked and pointed at the Grimm. Silver nodded and jumped from the branch using her fall to attack. She kicked one of the Beowolfs, using her aura to make the kick strong enough to break the mask and the skull of the creature.

The wolf girl leaped from the Grimm before its body started to disappear. She took care of a second before the Beowolfs started to attack. Ice dodged the claws of one and sends him into another Grimm before swirling around and blocking an attack.

Leaf whistled approving. "Not bad for a first year. But how stupid can someone be to fight without weapon." He leaped from the tree and joined the fight.

Ice was about to block another attack when the Beowolf suddenly stopped. He was cut into two by an axe at least half as big as the person swinging it. Silver smiled for a moment at the huntsman before rolling to the side, the claws of the Grimm only hitting the ground.

After Leaf joined the fight it ended fast. Thought he just killed two more Grimm than the faunus.

"That was easy. But what would you expect from a mission for a first year. You're better than I thought, finishing those creatures without a weapon. I'm not sure if you're really brave or really stupid. Maybe both. Let's go back." The brunet said and headed to the village where the airship would bring them back to Beacon.

* * *

Silver was reading her new book the whole flight and managed to finish it just when they landed. They said goodbye while Baak stayed in the airship and flew to the city of Vale. The silver wolf went to the dorms, meeting Blake and Ruby on the way. The girl with the red tipped hair seemed really excited.

"Where are you two going?" Silver asked.

"Just in the city to hang out." Ruby answered getting a little red.

The wolf faunus smirked at this. "So you two are going on a date?"

These words made the smallest of the three blushes madly. Blake wore her usual neutral expression. "Yes." She simply answered which made Ruby blush harder.

"Blake!" The scythe wielder shouted, shocked.

Silvers smirk grow. "Nice to hear. How did the others take it?"

The pair looked bashfully to the side. "We haven't told them yet." Blake answered quietly.

"Why?"

"There hasn't been an opportunity yet."

Ice looked skeptical. "Yesterday morning before you went on your mission and today wasn't an option? Though, I really want to be there when you tell them so I don't mind."

"Why?" The two other girls asked at the same time.

The silver wolf shrugged. "I think it would be interesting to watch." Yang was a protective person and Ruby was her little sister. Her reaction to the childish girl dating Yang's partner would probably be fun to watch.

"I hope it won't get interesting." The cat faunus said, slightly nervous.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Her girlfriend tried to cheer her up.

"Don't worry about it and enjoy your date. And try not to get into trouble." Ice teased.

"We will." Ruby said cheerfully and took Blake's hand dragging her with her to the airport.

The wolf faunus watched them leave for a moment before continuing her way.

* * *

Silver was playing a video game with Yang in team RWBY's room. Weiss was attempting to study but the other two girls weren't quiet.

"You will never beat me in this game." Yang declared and shortly after the game announced her victory.

Ice ground her teeth. "I give up. I've lost five times." She smirked then. "But at least I beat you in our sparring match."

The blond huffed. "I'm stronger than you! If my aura hadn't drained I would have won! Next time I crush you!"

"Can't you two dolts shut up for just five minutes?" Weiss shouted clearly annoyed at them.

"Oh come on, Ice Queen. We are just having a little fun. Why don't you join us?" Yang chimed.

The white themed girl glared at the brawler but Ice saw the pink hue on her cheeks. "Hmpf! I have better thinks to do, you brute. Maybe you should consider studying too. You could use it." She gave back.

"And you could loosen up a bit. I know just the way to do so." The brawler said flirtatious and winked, making the heiress blush madly. The faunus snickered at her expression.

Weiss turned back to her books and notes. "J-just be quieter so I can concentrate."

"We have the whole week off. No need to spend all our free time studying." Yang was right. The other first year students were still on missions and would be for the rest of the week. It wasn't planned that they came back before Friday. So there weren't any classes in that time.

The blonde looked back at the screen. "I think we should do something else. You really suck at this, Silver."

Said girl sighed. "I don't know what you expected. I never really played this kind of game."

"No need to be so down. You're a much better fighter in real life." Yang stated.

"And even more reckless than Yang." Weiss added. This confused the faunus.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Jaune showed us a video from your fight with Nora. That was totally crazy. Not even I would take such a hit from her head on." The brawler explained.

"Oh, you where talking about that. One of my more stupid ideas. I'm happy that nether my bones or bracers cracked." Silver told, grimacing. She had underestimated the strength of that blow. That wont happened again.

"I can image. But it was awesome. You made it look so easy." The brawler seemed really impressed.

"Believe me, it was not."

The conversation was interrupted when the door opened and Ruby and Blake came in. Yang took this chance to tease her little sister. "How was the date?"

Ruby's face went red as she cried her sister's name. "Yang!"

The older chuckled. "You know I'm just teasing. No reason to get so flustered."

The girl with the red tipped hair got nervous at these words. "Um…there is something we wanted to tell you two." Ruby said and looked from her sister to Weiss. She hesitated and Blake squeezed her hand reassuringly. The scythe wielder took a deep, claming breath. "Blake and I are actually dating."

"What?!" The other two team members shouted. "Since when?" Yang asked.

"I confessed at the dance." Ruby answered shyly.

Yang and Weiss looked shocked. Then the blond got up and crushed the small girl in a hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Can't… breath!" The brunette got out while trying to escape her sister's hold. She was put down on the ground. The older sister turned to the cat faunus who gulped nervous at the stare she received.

"You're my partner and my friend, Blake. I can't think of anyone who I would give my sister to more happily but if you ever hurt her or do something inappropriate to her …" The now red eyes more imitating than any words could be. The blonde was serious. She made the ravenette nearly tremble in fear.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted angrily. "I can look after myself! And what do you mean inappropriate? I'm not a child anymore!"

"You're only fifteen!" The brawler gave back.

"There are girls younger than me who are already doing this kind of things. So why aren't I allowed to? I can do it too if I want!" Ruby said bluntly. She wasn't wrong with it. There really were kids out there who thought they need a boyfriend or a girlfriend even in elementary school. And there were fourteen-years-old who thought they need to lose there virginity at this age. What had become of these kids today?

"WHAT?" Three voices rang out. Blake, Weiss and Yang looked shocked. "D-don't you think it's too early in our relationship for this?" Blake asked bright red.

The girl with silver eyes looked confused for a few seconds before realization showed on her face and it took the color of her hood. "W-Wha… I-I d-didn't mean it like that!" She stuttered. Ice could barely hold her laugher. She knew it would be interesting but she didn't think it would be this funny to watch.

"I want to die right now." Ruby mumbled, totally embarrassed.

The Schnee looked to the silver haired faunus who was short from laughing out loud. "Why aren't you surprised, Silver?"

The silver haired girl had problems answering without laughing. "I…I was there when Ruby confessed."

Everyone except Blake looked surprised. "You saw?" The small girl asked and would have blushed if she weren't already bright red.

Ice nodded. "Yes. That reminds me." She took a book out from one of her pockets and held it up with the cover to the group. "I have something for you, Blake."

"'The Third Crusade'?" Weiss asked. "That book is really rare. There only exist a certain number of copies. It must've been really expensive, how did you get this?"

Silver's expression fell, her ears flattened. "It was. You can now consider me broke. I saved this money for some time now and it all was used for this book. You happy now, Blake? I was lucky I even found it."

Blake still looked shocked. "You… I didn't think you would really do this. Or even find this book."

The wolf girl scoffed. "I said I would get it for you. A bet is a bet and I lost, so take it." She held the book in the other faunus direction who took it.

"Thank you."

"Wait! What bet?" Yang wanted to know.

A smile tugged at Silver's lips. "That Ruby would confess before the dance ends."

"Ehh?" Said girl shouted while the ravenette looked away.

"And what would you have gotten when you won?" The blond asked further.

Ice's smile grew. "Then Blake would've confessed her feelings for Ruby before you went to your first mission."

"What?" Three voices rang out.

"How did you get Blake to agree to this?" Yang was surprised.

The wolf faunus sighed at that. "With this book." She pointed at 'The Third Crusade'.

"I'm not really surprised" The white haired girl commented. "What else would get her to agree to something like this?"

"I don't think it was worth it" Silver sighed again. "But now it's too late. So how was the date?"

The cat faunus smiled while Ruby beamed. "It was great! We went to city and…" The small girl rambled on but Ice was hardly listening anymore. She was happy for the two of them but also felt jealous. They had a good time while she couldn't get over her one-sided crush. Pathetic.

Ice couldn't help but ask herself how the champion was doing.

The silver head interrupted the ongoing conversation. "I didn't get much sleep the last few days, so I'll turn in early." She got up. Ice could feel Blake's worried gaze on her as she left the room. Shortly after she closed the door she could hear Weiss voice. "What's with her all of a sudden?"

The others didn't know the answer or in Blake's case, kept it for themselves.


	7. Chapter 7

**It took me longer to finish this chapter than it should. Mostly because I'm lazy and partly because at some points I didn't know what to write.**

 **It is longer than usual but I didn't want to split it.**

 **This chapter still lacks the romance I had planned and then moved to a later part I still have to write. But we will get some insight in Ice's past.  
**

 **Update: And the last of the current chapters got edited. Hopefully I won't take long to update this story.**

* * *

The next day was spent with studying, training, reading and some sparring. Some teams came back at this day but most came on Friday. Shortly after their arrival, JNPR learned that Blake and Ruby were dating. The faunus was hesitating to tell Sun for obvious reason. But with the support from her friends she managed. The relation between them was a little frosty now but it had to be done. Sun was avoiding the pair for time being.

Silver was on her way back from the library when she ran into Jaune. So they went together while he told her more about the mission they were on. He asked some questions about hers too.

They were near his door when he asked. "Nora wants to celebrate our first successful mission. Wanna join?"

"Who'll be there?"

Jaune opened the door while answering. "JNPR, team RWBY and you if you come. There will be something to drink and snacks if Nora doesn't eat them all before. It starts in the evening. We wanted to ask team SSSN too, but you know. Maybe it's better this way. It would be really cramped in our room."

"You have to come!" Nora shouted. She lay on her bed and listened to some music while doing something on her scroll.

"I will." Ice looked around JNPR's room. Her eyes stopped at something at the wall over one of the beds. "Doesn't Weiss have the same painting in her room? It even has the same frame. Did one of you steal it?"

"Of course not, but now that you mention it…" Ren said from inside the room.

"Who cares?" Nora asked. "It's nice or it wouldn't still hang there."

The silver wolf chuckled. "Right. See you guys later."

* * *

The others were already there when the wolf faunus knocked on JNPR's door. Ren opened it for her. "Hey, you came." Yang spoke the obvious.

Ice shrugged. "I said I would."

"Yeah but you don't like parties, so it wouldn't be surprising if you stayed away. It would match your lone wolf image." The brawler explained.

"I wasn't aware I had something like this. And the term 'lone wolf' is incorrect. Wolves are pack animals. They leave the pack once they're old enough to search for their mate and make there own family." Ice replayed.

Yang grinned. "So you found someone you would like as your mate and you made us your new pack?"

Silver rolled her eyes but her cheeks had now a pink hue. "No, you're my friends and I like spending my time with you." She sat herself between Yang and Ruby. The latter was resting her head on Blake's shoulder, their fingers intertwined. Next to Blake sat Jaune, then Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and Weiss. They formed more or less in a circle. In the middle were the snacks. Ren had done a good job in holding the ginger back.

"And what do we do now?" asked the silver head. They looked at each other.

Jaune spoke first. "We haven't really thought about that."

"Uh, uh, uh" Nora bounced on the bed she sat on. "We could tell stories. I really want to hear some stories."

"That's not really party like." Ren stated.

"But it does sound good." Ruby was on Nora's side. Some of the others nodded.

"What kind of stories?" The blond boy asked.

"Not sure. How about something cool and exiting? Some fights that were barely survived and won despite some serious injuries. Uh, I would like to know how Silver got her scars! They must be from some awesome fights." The ginger was exited.

"They're not." Ice said. "I don't think this kind of stories should be told on a party."

The rest of the group seemed curious as well and looked expectantly at her. Ruby even with her puppy dog eyes. The wolf girl sighed. "Don't tell me you all want to know." Everyone nodded. She sighed again. "Okay. Let's begin with this one." Silver pointed at the scare through her right eyebrow.

Ruby felt Blake stiffen for a short moment. Ice's lips twitched when she saw this. "Seem like you still remember it, Blake."

"Of course. After all it's my fault." She replayed.

"I told you more than once it's not. To be honest, I like this one. It reminds me of back then. And it doesn't look half bad.  
Well, we were five at that time. Blake and I were climbing on some rocks. She lost her footing and nearly fell. I caught her but slipped and fell from the rock. A sharp edge cut through my brow. Luckily my eye was not hurt. The cut was bleeding and Blake panicked. She apologized the whole time. I barely prevent her from getting some adult. We went to my place and she helped me patch me up. I never let anyone see the wound. That was a bad idea because even thought it wasn't big it was a deep wound and probably would've needed stitches. Maybe it wouldn't have scarred so much then."

"That wasn't an awesome story but somewhat cute and there are more to go." Nora cheered.

Silver smiled a little at the cute but got serious pretty fast.

"They're not awesome stories. But if you all want let's continue with the scar at my mouth. Because you all are so interested in my past I will give you a little background knowledge." The silver head looked from on member of team JNPR to the other. "I don't know if the others had already told you but I was once a member of the White Fang. After it got violent I left. That was just about two months before my thirteenth birthday. I somehow found my way to Anima where I lived on the streets for some years. I learned many things in this time. You all surly heard from Mistral's lower classes. So maybe you have an idea how it is to live there."

The members of the teams JNPR and RWBY nodded.

Strange, how trying to escape a violent organization just brought Ice into an even more brutal world.

Silver took a deep breath. "So how I got this scar…"

* * *

 _Ice was hiding in an alley. The worker from the shop she just stole her lunch from had stopped chasing her. So she searched a more secure place to eat. It wasn't long before she was found. Not by the worker but a group of teens who were wandering around the streets._

 _Six boys, the youngest couldn't be under seventeen. They came over to Silver._

 _"What do we have here? A little brat all alone." One of them sneered._

 _She got up from her sitting position. The silver wolf faunus knew this type of people. They liked to pick on the ones who are weaker than them. She had to get away but it was too late. She was already surrounded with her back to the wall. Ice gulped in fear, her ears flattened._

 _People who live outside the kingdoms learn early to defend themselves. But a thirteen-years-old couldn't do anything against these boys. Especially in her condition. She was emaciated and weak._

 _In her time in Windpath, a city in the kingdom of Mistral, Ice learned to steal but she did it only when necessary. She tried to get through with begging but it was hard to get anything. So she stole when the hunger was too big. She was often near starvation but couldn't bring herself to take more. A stupid way of thinking she lost soon after._

 _Silver searched for a way out of her situation but couldn't find one. Not without trying to get past one of those boys. They where coming closer. One of them, the leader she assumed, stood in front of her. "Look at this. Seems like we found a little thief, guys."_

 _The others laughed. He looked back down at her. "Don't even try to deny it. It's obvious you can't afford even the worst of food." He leaned closer. "Do you know what we do with thieves like you?" He pushed her and Ice fell to the ground, her hood coming off._

 _"Ohhh, now look at this. A filthy, little animal. And a girl too. We should teach you some manners, you little mutt!" With that he kicked her in her stomach. She writhed in pain. The other boys joined their boss._

 _The faunus did her best to protect herself with her aura and limps but she could still feel some ribs break._

 _After some time the leader called them back. He grabbed Silver by one of her wolf ears and pulled her up. "It's nice to hear you whimper but I want you to scream in pain." He punched her in her face. She tried to avoid getting hit but the edge of his brass knuckle cut her trough her lip near the left corner._

 _She groaned in pain, biting back her scream and tears. She won't give him this satisfaction._

 _"You're really stubborn but maybe you're useful in some other way." He grinned sadistically. "Hold her!"_

 _Two boys followed his order and hold her in place while he looked her up and down. He lifted her hoodie and t-shirt up. The girl hadn't even started to develop. One of the boys who hold her kept her cloths up. The silver head struggled as much as she could but it was futile._

 _The leader opened her belt and pulled her pants and underwear down._

 _"Hey! What are you guys doing on my property?" Someone shouted at them. The man was still too far away to see what was going on._

 _"Shit! That's the crazy old man! If he finds us here he shoots us!" One of the group members said._

 _"Fuck! Let's go!" The boss ordered. They let the faunus fall to the floor before running away._

 _Ice put her cloths back on and limped in the other direction. She had more then one run in with this crazy old guy. It was better to avoid him. He even shot at children._

* * *

The whole time the wolf girl told her story she didn't show any emotion. Someone could think it wasn't her experience.

The other persons in the room looked aghast at her. Silver sighed. "I told you it's not a story for this kind of gatherings. So, sure you want to hear the others? Maybe I should add that this was my only near-rape experience that left a scar."

"That… that…" The champion tried to form a sentence. "Wait! The only which left a scar?"

"I thought that you…" Nora started.

"What? That I got my scars from heroic fights against bandits and Grimm? Then I have to disappoint you. I already said not one of them has such an origin. I have only one scar with a happy memory. Every other speaks of violence. But now that I'm already telling my past and the mood is down, I continue if you want" The silver wolf faunus stated. "I think I have to get this of my chest one day."

"Is…" Yang asked "Is it wrong of me to want to hear the next one?"

Blake shook her head. "I, too, am still curious." The cat faunus agreed.

"But I think we should first send Ruby out. I don't think it's something she should hear." The blond brawler said.

"But I want to hear it too. And I already listened to this one." Ruby complained. She looked with her puppy dog eyes at her sister.

Yang sighed. She couldn't resist this look. "Okay." The younger teen squealed.

Ice nodded and twitched her left wolf ear. "This one is from my arrival in Tenebra. The people there try their best to keep their existence hidden. So they only trade with the kingdoms if it's necessary. And when they do, they send one of their people. With false ID and all that.…"

* * *

 _It was just four months after Ice became fifteen. She had a run in with some gangsters who were still after her. But this wasn't just low ranking thugs. They were some of them who could actually fight and there were too many to take on. So the silver wolf did the only logical thing. She ran._

 _They followed her through the streets and over the roofs from Windpath. They were hard to lose. She hid in a warehouse but they started looking through it._

Silver was in one of the containers, listening for her pursuers. She heard them go away but didn't dare to leave her hideout yet.

She started to feel her exhaustion and before she knows it, fell asleep, not knowing the containers would be brought onboard an airship that left the city in the same night.

* * *

The silver haired faunus gripped Yang's hand which had reached for her hood. She didn't notice she put it back on.

"If you want me to stop just say so." Silver said and put the hood back down.

"No!" The brawler grinned sheepishly. "I just thought you were distracted and wouldn't notice. I haven't caught you off guard once."

She received a short glare from yellow eyes before the wolf girl continued.

* * *

 _Ice was awoken by someone throwing her against the floor. A man stood before her._

 _"Looks like I found a stowaway. Do you know what I do with the likes of you?" His way of speaking was strange. The faunus hadn't heard such a dialect before._

 _She tried to get up but the man pushed her and she hit the floor again. This time her hood fell off._

 _"Oho. Now that is a surprise. A little faunus girl." He eyed her closer. "A wolf faunus if I'm not mistaking. I wonder what breed you are. I never saw one with such a fur color. This must be my lucky day."_

 _The sly smile on his face let the teen shudder. He came closer and took a knife out off his pocket. Silver tried to get away from him but her back hit a container and stopped her._

 _The man grabbed her hoodie and pulled her up. "And now hold still!" He brought the knife to her left ear. Ice jerked her head away. She didn't lose her ear but it was still cut._

 _The silver wolf let out a short scream. Blood flowed out of her wound and it hurt so much. It wasn't like being cut on other body parts. Her ears were much more sensitive._

 _The man swore. "Fuck! Damn it! Do you know what you just did? They will lose their value with this!"_

 _Ice didn't care. She was hurt and she needed to get away before he really cut her ears off. The faunus kicked the man between his legs and he let her go. She ran but soon heard him follow her. He was coming closer._

 _They were on a landing platform with lots of containers. But Silver couldn't hide here._

 _The man coughed her. He grabbed her hood and yanked her back. The silver head twirled around and kicked the man against his knee. He groaned but kept a firm grip. He pinned her to the ground. "I hope this is worth it." The man complained. He was going to cut her but Ice stopped his hand and tried to disarm him. She was too weak so she kicked him again in his crotch._

 _This did the trick and the wolf girl managed to get the weapon out of his hand. But it made the man angry and he started to strangle her. She tried to remove his hands but he was too strong. Panic started to rise in Silver when she couldn't breathe anymore._

 _She got an idea and searched for the knife with her left hand. After she found it she didn't hesitate and jabbed it between his ribs._

 _The man screamed and let go of her. Silver freed herself from under him and ran. She ran until she crashed into a big man._

 _"Careful there, boy. You're going to hurt yourself." His deep voice said. He spoke the same way as the other. Then he noticed the blood on her hood. After she put it back on the blood of the cut drenched that area of the cotton. "You're hurt."_

 _The girl tried to run again but the man held her there. He was stronger than the other._

 _"Let me help you." He said and wanted to remove the hood but stopped when he saw what Silver hide under it._

 _"Let's get you somewhere safe first."_

* * *

"… That's also how I meet Bark. After I run into him he brought me to Onyx Academy and treated my wound there. Luckily the cut didn't damage my hearing. Thought it probably would still be better than that of a human. So you want to hear more?" Silver ended.

"What happened to the man?" Ruby asked.

The wolf faunus sighed. "His body was found hours later. The injury was fatal. I pierced one of his lungs. Bark told me this the next day." She didn't want to talk about the man she killed. It was self-defense. The others seemed to be aware of this fact and didn't ask future.

After a short pause Pyrrha asked carefully. "What about the scar on your arm?"

Ice gripped her left forearm. "This one is the newest. I got it just a few months ago."

* * *

 _They were on a mission to gather information. The team had split up and Ice followed a cult member in a café/bar._

 _She was listening in on a conversation between him and the owner, who stood behind the counter._

 _"We need more supplies. What's taking so long?" The owner was angry._

 _"I know but they are not easy to find. It's getting harder and the others don't make it easier." The man complained. "But I think I'm on something. Is everything prepared?"_

 _"Yes. We can begin as soon as you bring it."_

 _The other nodded. "Then I better go now."_

 _The faunus was about to bring her cup back. The cult member who was on his way out bumped into her._

 _Ice opened her mouth to apology around the same time he does but he stopped when he saw her teeth._

 _"A faunus!" He shouted to the owner before aiming a punch at her._

 _Silver dodged the hit easily but the shop owner had armed himself with guns and pointed them at her. "Don't move!"_

 _The silver haired girl took cover behind the other man. Before he could attack her she kicked him in his stomach and held him in the line of fire._

 _The gunner came at her. His pistols had knifes on them. Silver avoided his attacks by rolling to her left. The unarmed man grabbed her once she stood again. Ice was thrown across the room and hit the shelf behind the counter. Many bottles broke at the impact. Her aura protected her from the glass but the smell of alcohol burned in her nose._

 _The wolf faunus got up and took cover behind the bar while the shop owner shot at her. She used the time to ask for help with her scroll._

 _The click of the empty magazine was followed from a small thud. Before Ice knew what happened, a small object exploded next to her in a glowing light. Her ears were ringing and she couldn't see for a few seconds. It was enough for the men to take her out._

* * *

 _Silver slowly came back to her senses. She was sitting on a chair in an unfamiliar room. Her hands were strapped to the armrest. The position of the strap was strange. It didn't bind her wrists but her hands. Her arms lay with their underside up. The armrests had grooves next to her arms. Below the left stood a bucket. Ice had a bad feeling about it._

 _"She's awake." One of the men said. It was the one she followed._

 _"Good." The answer came. The shop owner came and crouched before her. "You know, I never saw someone like you. A faunus with two animal traits. And a wolf faunus at that. Your color is not normal for your kind. But that is a good thing. You're something special. That means you're of much, very much, value. It's a shame your ear is already a little damaged."_

 _He stood up after finishing speaking and went over to a table. The man took something from it and came back to Ice. She saw the object was a knife._

 _To his companion he said. "We will cut off her ears and pull her teeth while letting her bleed out. After we can decide what more we need." He got a nod as answer._

 _The man who was apparently in charge looked back at Silver. "Now hold still!"_

 _He brought the knife to her left arm. Her eyes widened. For a moment the silver head starred in shock as the blade came closer to her wrist. She tried to free her arm but the cut was made in the same moment. She bit back a scream. From her wrist to near her elbow was a long, jagged cut. Blood flowed down the grooves and into the bucket._

 _"Fuck! I said hold still!" He cursed. "At last it bleeds enough."_

 _Silver panicked at the amount of blood she lost. At this rate she will die in a short time. This was her end._

 _She barely noticed how the knife was brought to her ear or how the other man screamed. Her focus was on the blood that poured out of the cut at her arm and flowed down the armrest into the bucket._

 _The fighting noise, the scrams of agony and the frantic cries of her name didn't register in her head. The faunus' senses were fading. The blackness slowly creeps in her vision as the pain gave way to numbness. She wasn't aware of the persons rushing over to her as the blackness took over._

* * *

"…I woke up in Onyx's infirmary. My team rescued me. They told me my heart stopped for a few seconds and they thought they lost me. Maybe my pulse was just too weak that they couldn't find it."

"You… you died?" It was Nora who asked but everyone looked equally shocked.

"That's what they told me."

"There are some things I don't understand. Why would they want your ears, teeth and blood?" Ren was confused. And not only he.

"Probably more than just that." Silver sighed. "How do I explain it best? …You all know that faunus have better senses than humans? Most can even see in the dark."

The two teams confirmed.

"You know that there a people who think that a rabbit's foot brings luck? The way of thinking from Tenebrans goes into a similar direction. They think that faunus', especially their animal traits, hold special powers and use them as a charm. Like the traits from a bear faunus makes you stronger, those from an owl wise and many more things. It's not just one thing. There are many different conceptions. Over the time emerged many sects and cults which go to different extremes. Some think only the animal appendages are of use while others think that every part of a faunus has those powers. Like their blood, organs or bones. There are even people who implant faunus eyes to get night vision. The rarer the kind of faunus the more value they have. Wolf faunus' aren't usual in Tenebra and image finding one of my breed. A wolf with silver fur. Not white or grey but silver. And two animal traits at that."

The more Silver told the more the others in the room got shocked and disgusted. Jaune looked like he would throw up soon.

"It's not really allowed any more. The police, if you can call them that, try there best to stop it but it's hopeless. Many Tenebrans belong to such a cult or sect. These beliefs are still in their minds. Of course that doesn't count for all, but the majority still thinks so."

Weiss was the first to find her voice again. "That… that is sick in so many ways. How can faunus' live there?"

"The faunus' in Tenebra stay hidden and many of them already lost the part that identified them as such. It's not like you could just leave Tenebra. There are just a handful of airships that can bring you to the next continent. And they leave the continent only a few times in the year." The silver head explained.

"Then how did you come here?" Jaune wanted to know.

"After that incident" Ice held her forearm again. "Bark decided it was the best if I left Tenebra, though, he told me just the day before I left. He made plans with Ozpin for my transfer. He found out when the next airship to Vale took off and got me on it. I don't know how many strings he had to pull for this. The airships have a high security since some people tried to steal one. And they are not for passengers." Silver continued after a short pause. "There're two more stories to go if you're still up for it."

She received eight nods as answer.

* * *

 _It was an accident. She couldn't have known that the roof was ramshackle. In her hurry the silver wolf didn't had the time to take a careful look. Neither could she have known that the building was used for an illegal deal as she fell through the ceiling. And what she definitely couldn't have known was that one side doing the deal was on bad terms with her pursers. So she wasn't aware of the consequences. She not just ruined the trade but also sparked a fight._

 _Unfortunately for Ice, her pursers were easily defeated. So the wrath of the other group was directed at her._

 _The girl had just managed to leave the building but ran into a few thugs. She put them out but they did more damage on her than she liked. Her form had gone sloppy over time on the streets._

 _The faunus was about to ran again but was abruptly and painfully stopped. Something tore deeply into her flesh from her collarbone over her shoulder to her back. Ice suppressed a scream while sinking to her knees._

 _Behind her someone clicked their tongue. "You don't really think you can make such a racket and just get away with it, do you? To barge into a meeting and creating such a fuss, also really."_

 _Silver stood up while her left clutched her injured right shoulder and turned around. There stood a women dressed in black. In her right she held a whip. The lash had sharp metal pieces in it to cut deeper and do more damage._

 _"Don't try to run. It's no use." The woman said and the faunus didn't have to look around her to know she was surrounded. Fighting was useless. Her aura was already deleted. She couldn't win. The other option was to run for it but like the woman said, it was no use. So Silver put her hands in the air and surrendered._

* * *

 _The sun had risen when the silver head was thrown into a cell. It was empty except of a bucket. The floor, wall and ceiling had attachments for manacle. A small opening in the wall barely let light in. There was dried blood on walls, floor and even on the ceiling. It reeked of rot, mold, urine, excrement, and blood. And rats, in this cell lived definitely rats._

 _The person who brought the faunus in secured her chain to another that came from the floor in the middle of the room. After the guard left and the door was looked there was a click._

 _Silver tried how far she could reach and noticed that the chain got longer. There came more from the floor. So at least she could reach the bucket in the corner if necessary._

 _There wasn't much to do so Ice just sat on the wall and waited. It didn't take long for the first rat to come out. Others soon followed. They weren't the wolf faunus preferred company but nothing she wasn't used to. So she let them be and ignored them as they started climbing over her. Only when one attempted to bite her did she growl at them and they fled. After they noticed no future danger they came back. Silver even started to stroke them._

 _After what seemed like hours someone opened the peephole on the door and looked inside. Suddenly the chain attached to her was pulled into the ground and the silver head had no choice but to follow until she was in the middle of the room. Then the door opened and the woman from this morning came in._

 _"Turn around!" She ordered and Ice obeyed. She stood now with her back to the woman. A swift kick brought her to her knees. The chain got even shorter, holding her in this position. Her cloths were lifted over her head, baring her back._

 _The wolf girl took in a sharp breath when the woman let her finger slide over the wound. "Looks like I got you good. That is a deep cut. It'll leave a scar." The mirth was clear in her voice. She stepped back and continued in a stern tone. "You ruined a good deal with your careless actions! Therefore you need to be punished!"_

 _She let a whip crack and Ice flinched. She could image the smirk on the woman's face. The faunus braced herself as good as she could for what was to follow. At last this whip didn't have the metal pieces._

 _"I think twenty lashes should be enough for now. You will count them loud and if you make a mistake we begin from one."_

 _The first lash hit her back and Ice, stubborn as she was, refused to cry out in pain. "One" She grunted trough clenched teeth. The second, third, and the fourth were the same. The fifth cut over the gash on her back and Silver couldn't help but scream._

 _Twelve lashed followed but than she made a mistake. The torture started from the beginning._

 _Only a few of the thirty-seven whip lashes bleed. Her aura did a good job protecting her. It didn't help against the pain though._

 _The sun had already set and Silver knew she needed rest, so she slept on the cold stone floor, avoiding lying on her back. That was her worst birthday ever._

* * *

 _Ice woke up before the sun rose. She needed to get out of there. Luckily guards were bored most of the time and her guard was no exception._

 _After he secured her to the middle of the room he opened the door and placed some food in her cell. He looked her over and smirked. "You know, it's very boring to just stand outside the door all night. Why don't you entertain me?"_

 _The silver haired faunus stared at him. "And how?"_

 _The guard looked taken aback by this. Then he smirked. "Oh, I know how. Why don't you give me a show?"_

 _"Make me!" She spat at him._

 _"You cheeky, little brat!" He came at her, fist raised. Silver kicked his feet out from under him. He landed on his side and the silver wolf used the opportunity to get her chains around his neck and chocked him. She turned him on his front and sat on top of him._

 _After he stopped struggling she loosened her hold. Noting happened, he was out cold._

 _Silver tested if he was still alive before getting up and searching for the keys. He didn't have them. They were still in the lock. Fuck!_

 _She searched the guard again and found some bobby pins in his pockets. Why he would carry something like this with him was a mystery to her but the wolf faunus took them. Good thing her lock picking skills were everything but bad._

 _The chains were tied to the guard now and door closed behind Silver. With her faunus senses it was easy to avoid the other guards and leave._

 _When she reached her hideout she took care of her wounds. Her aura had started healing them but it would take some time before they vanished. But the one from the special whip left a scar._

* * *

"… Yeah, now you know how I spent my fifteen birthday. It really wasn't what I excepted. At least the day after I got really lucky. That guard was a bloody rookie or just plain stupid."

Yang's eyes were red from furry. "How can you keep so calm about this? They tortured you!"

"It took some time. First I really wanted to hunt that woman down. Actually, I tried but I couldn't find her. At the moment I'm fine."

"They say it needs lots of strength to forgive." Ruby chimed in.

But Silver hadn't forgiven her. She gave up on finding her. And only because it ended with her on another continent. But should they ever cross paths again Ice was sure only one of them would come out alive.

"So want to hear the last one or should we stop?" She asked.

"I think one more won't make much of a different now." Jaune remarked.

"Okay, then let's start."

* * *

 _It was one of this 'wrong time, wrong place' moments. The silver wolf faunus spent her night in an old warehouse. She was awoken by a scream. She stood up to see what happened. It would've been better to stay were she was._

 _What she saw when she peeped trough the gap from the door was murder. A man had stabbed someone. It wasn't an unusual thing._

 _The problem was, the murderer saw her. And he was faster._

 _It took only few seconds for him to get her. Silver tried to defend herself but the fourteen-years-old had no chance. His knife cut her left side and she screamed before she dropped to the ground. He easily pinned her down._

 _"It was your fault for coming here!" He shouted._

 _For a moment Ice thought she would die there. But she wasn't ready for that. Even when her life was bad she still wanted to live. She gripped her own knife she had in her belt._

 _He held his still bloody knife above her. "I can't let you get away! Not after what you saw!"_

 _Silver used this moment and stabbed the man above her. He looked in disbelieve to the knife in his chest then to the girl under him. For a short moment the time seemed to stop as the two stared at each other, both wide-eyed. Then the man's weapon fell from his hand and the moment broke._

 _The knife landed next to Silver's face. It had cut her cheek but she didn't notice it. She still stared at the man. She could see how the life left his eyes and he slumped forward._

 _For a minute or so Ice stared above her. Then her actions sunk in. She just killed someone! She had stabbed the man's heart! He was dead and it was her doing!_

 _She felt like she was going to vomit._

 _It wasn't the first time she injured someone. Probably even deathly but she never stayed to find out. This time she saw the life leave the man. She killed him!_

 _She needed to get a grip on herself. It was self-defense. She didn't have another chance. It was the only thing she could have done._

 _She could have just injured him!_

 _But there was no guarantee it would have worked. It was necessary to save her life._

 _Was her life really more worth than his?_

 _She needed to stop these negative thoughts. They didn't help. It was already too late. He was dead and she alive. And she needed to get away from here._

 _She laboriously rolled his body from her and stood up. The pain in her side came back tenfold at this action. Still, she had to get away._

* * *

"… I fought with a mental breakdown for months after. It took even longer before the nightmares ended." That wasn't quite true. Sometimes she still got them but that was nothing Ice would tell her friends.

The others were speechless. The silver head looked at them all. She was a little scared. She had just confessed to them that she took at last two lives. Ice hoped her friend wouldn't see her different from before.

The silence was making her nervous. "I never spoke so much over my past before." But she trusted them. Trusted, that they would still tread her the same after relieving those parts of her past.

"And we are honored that you trust us enough to do so." The amazon said.

The blond boy agreed. "Yeah. It's just a lot to take in."

"You had to go through so much." Ruby's tone was sympathetic, nearly pitiful. But Silver didn't want pity.

"It's not like it was all bad." The silver wolf assured. "I had happy moments too. But maybe we should let these dark and gloomy thoughts for today and celebrate the successes of Juniper's first mission, just like we had planed to do."

And so they did just that. They devoured the snacks they had forgotten and started a pillow fight which turned into a war just seconds after it begun.

Nora and Ruby were in a heated argument which sweets are better. Ruby was adamant that cookies are best. The ginger tried to convince her that there are better things. At some point she declared that nothing could beat pancakes, especially Ren's.

He, Weiss and Jaune tried there best to prevent a second pillow war while Yang was rolling from laughing.

Silver was watching them, smiling to herself, when she felt a weight on her shoulder. The first thing she saw after she glanced down was red hair. Now with her attention on the champion she noticed her slow, even breathing. Pyrrha was sleeping.

With her cheeks slightly pink Ice shifted a little to make it more comfortable for her crush.

"Pyrrha?" She whispered.

No reaction. The redhead was sound asleep. But the soft spoken name caught the interest of the other silent person in the room.

Blake looked over to them. Her expression gave nothing away but the amused glint in these golden eyes was enough. Silver rolled her eyes before looking at the rest of their group.

They weren't really quiet so the wolf faunus grabbed a pillow, which was still in reach from the fight before, and threw it at them. An annoyed Weiss and two confused blonds turned to her. The Ice Queen was about to snap at the girl but stopped at the sight before her.

The silver head and the champion sat on the floor with there backs against one of the beds. The later had fallen asleep and her head rested on the others shoulder. Ice held a finger to her lips to signal them to be quiet.

The busty blonde nudged her sister and Jaune tried to get Nora's attention. Both turned to stare in disbelieve.

"I think it's time we call it a night." The wolf girl whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear. They all agreed.

The tall boy was about to come over and take care of his partner but Ice stopped him. She turned fully to the redhead and placed one arm around her back and the other under her legs before carefully standing up. The amazon's head rested now on her chest while Silver carried her to her bed.

Jaune sprung to action and throw the cover back, so that the wolf could lay the redhead down.

"We can take over from here. You all should get some rest too." The boy stated.

Silver wanted to protest but stopped herself. He was Pyrrha's partner. It wasn't her responsibility to take care of her. So she stepped back. "You're right. It's late and we should go to bed. Good night."

Ice and team RWBY were about to go when the small brunette asked. "How did you know which bed was hers? I would've just lain her down on the closest."

"It smells like her." The faunus stated as if it were the most obvious thing. For her it was.

Everyone stopped and starred at her. "Yeeeaaah, that's not creepy at all." The brawler commented sarcastically.

"Why would you-?" The silver haired girl stopped mid sentence. "Right. I think you forgot something. I'm a (wolf) faunus. I don't know if you're aware of it but a wolf has an even better sense of smell than a dog. For you it might be strange but for me it's pretty normal."

"So you have a super sense of smell?" The blond wanted to confirm.

"I wouldn't call it super…" Silver trailed of.

"Then you can help me find my headphones? I can't find them anywhere!"

"What? No! Why don't you let Zwei search for them?"

The silver haired girl looked back guiltily while leaving the room, making sure she didn't just wake the champion.

* * *

 **I wanted** **the people from Tenebra to have a dialect but I can't write it. So you have to image it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know it took me way too long to post a new chapter and I'm sorry.**

 **For the ones that haven't noticed I edited the old ones and let my beta look over them. Thanks to NightLocker** **for putting up with me. No major changes regarding the plot were made though, I think. But I did changed a lot , some chapters more than others** **. So it could be worth checking them out again.  
**

* * *

Silver wanted to go to the library after breakfast but before she got out of the dorm room someone knocked on her door. After opening it she was greeted with the sight of the red haired champion.

"Good Morning, Ice." Pyrrha greeted. "Do you have a minute?"

"Morning. Sure, come in." The faunus stepped out of the way. After she closed the door behind her guest she asked. "What do you need?"

There was a light blush on Pyrrha's cheeks. "I wanted to apologize for last night. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"You don't have to, Pyrrha. It was nothing." The silver head replied and gestured to one of the unused beds. "But that is not the only reason you're here, is it?"

The amazon sat down. "No, it's not. I… You said when ever I wanted to talk I could come to you. Is this offer still open?"

"Of course. Any time you need me." Ice declared and sat down next to her friend. She didn't think the champion would actually take her up on that.

"I tried to make Jaune notice me romantically since the beginning, but it's never worked. It got more obvious over the time. While we were away for the mission I tried to be bolder but he still didn't noticed. He just asked if something was wrong because I wasn't acting like usual." Pyrrha looked at her with sad, green eyes. "Do you think he could be doing this intentionally? Could he have notice but still act oblivious to not make things strange between us?"

"We're talking about Jaune. If he did, he wouldn't let you suffer like this, Pyrrha. He would talk to you about it." Silver assured her.

"That's good, I think. But that doesn't change the fact that he doesn't see me like this. He still likes Weiss, even though he doesn't try to win her over anymore. Maybe it would be better if I give up on him."

Ice's heart leaped at these words. And for a second she thought about telling Pyrrha to try and get over him. That he wasn't worth her suffering. But these thoughts vanished quickly. The expression her crush wore alone was enough to make her chest hurt. This wasn't what she wanted to hear. It wasn't what she needed to hear. So Ice did what she thought was right.

"You shouldn't give up that easily. Not before you asked him out and got rejected. Not that this would ever happen. He'll say yes."

The redhead didn't look so certain. "How come you're so sure of it?"

The wolf faunus turned more to her and gazed in those beautiful green eyes. "Pyrrha, you're strong, smart, independent and kind. You care for the people around you. You're always there to support others. And to top it all off you're breathtaking. You're everything someone can wish for. Even Jaune should notice that."

Her scent filled Silver's nose. Jasmine and this something else that was entirely Pyrrha, it was intoxicating. She looked somehow cute with her red face. It was leading the faunus' thoughts into dangerous territory.

"I'm really not that great." The champion bashfully disagreed.

"You are. And anyone would count themselves lucky to have someone like you."

"You're giving me way too much credit. I have my flaws."

"Everyone has them. They are part of us and make us who we are. They are one of the reasons we love someone. God, I can't believe I just said something so cheesy, but you know what I mean." Silver's cheeks turned a little pink.

Pyrrha had a found smile on her face, surly thinking about the blond boy. "Yes, I do."

It was one of those smiles Ice liked to see but the reason behind it made her heart ache.

"Feeling better?" She asked.

"Yes. Thank you for that." The redhead was now smiling at Silver. It was a grateful smile, not one of those she gave Jaune. Not one of those the faunus longed to see directed at her.

Silver still returned the smile.

"But that wasn't all I wanted to talk about." Pyrrha said. "How do you feel?"

"About what?" The yellow eyed girl asked, confused.

"I mean after all you told us yesterday. It couldn't have been easy."

Ice was stunned. She didn't expect such a question. It caught her completely off-guard but also filled her chest with warmth that Pyrrha was concerned for her. Though, she didn't want the redhead to worry.

"I'm fine. More than that. I never told anybody those stories. I didn't realize how much they weighed down on me. At least some of them. And none of you judged me for my past mistakes." She looked into understanding vivid green eyes and smiled. "It means more to me than I care to admit even to myself." Ice's smile fell. "But I've done worse things. And I don't think that you'll see me the same if I told you."

Silver was surprised when she felt the girl next to her take one of her hands and squeeze it.

"You never know if you don't try. But no matter what kind of person you were before I'll always be there for you. And so will the others. What counts is the person you're now."

The faunus returned Pyrrha's smile, her heart fluttering. The amazon was so kind and supporting, so unlike Silver she couldn't help but feel drawn to her.

"Thanks." That was all Ice managed to get out, overwhelmed with the desire to pull the champion closer and kiss her.

"I'm always there for you, just like you're for me." Pyrrha said and squeezed her hand one more time before letting go. They sat in silence for a little while longer before she asked another question.

"Are you going to participate in the tournament?"

''No, I won't. To do so you need a team and I don't have one. But that's okay. I wouldn't be comfortable with so many people watching me."

"But you're still going to watch it, are you?"

"Of course. But only from the holoscreen." Ice responded before asking. "Did you eat already? I was on my way to get breakfast. Wanna come with me?"

"Gladly."

* * *

Breakfast with Pyrrha was nice. They were talking about everything and nothing. The rest of JNPR joined them part of the way through.

The way the redhead looked at Jaune made Silver nearly feel relieved when they parted ways.

Thinking about these two put her into a sour mood. It didn't vanish while she was in the library. And not on her way back to her room.

The silver wolf faunus noticed that something was wrong. She was in a nearly empty hallway. There were only four other persons apart from her. The members from team CRDL, two in front and two behind her.

One of them, the one with the mohowk, put his hand on her shoulder, making her stop. She glared at him.

"Now who do we have here? If it isn't our favorite little dog." Cardin said with a smug smile before he glared at her and spat. "I think we still have a score to settle."

The wolf girl ignored him. "If I were you, I would let go." She told Russel.

He grinned. "And if I don't?"

"That would be a bad move for you."

"Are you threatening us?" Cardin asked amused.

Silver lost her patience. She didn't want do deal with this shit right now. Her mood was already bad enough.

"I'll give you one last chance. Leave me alone or you'll regret it."

The boys laughed at this. "Oh really? I don't think so." The leader sneered.

She wanted to punch that smug grin form his face.

"Okay. You asked for it. I will even be lenient with you. What am I saying? I just want to humiliate you more. So I only use my hands. How about that?"

"Suit yourself. You'll lose on way or another." The Winchester boy said smugly.

Ice nodded once to herself before she grabbed the wrist from the hand on her shoulder. With her other she took the elbow from the same arm. With a circular movement of her arm, she brought Russel in a bend over position. His arm straight, Ice pushed on his elbow while her other hand held his wrist in place at waist height. The boy whimpered in pain.

Sky charged at her but Silver brought the poor Russel between them and pushed him at Sky. With those two distracted the faunus attacked Dove. She punched him in the face before the yellow eyed girl dodged a strike from Cardin. She was distracted by him and reacted to late when Dove and Russle attacked from behind. Sky sent her into the wall and Dove and Russel grabbed both one of her arms.

"What was that before? You wanted to hold back? More like you're in need of help." The redhead mocked and leaned in to her, trying to be intimidating.

"Oh please, I'm the one in advantage." She couldn't help but smirk. That earned her a swift punch to the gut. As much as Silver hated to admit it, this guy could throw a punch. But her smirk only grew.

"Doesn't look like it to me." He was way too self-satisfied. He didn't do much to put her in this position.

"Maybe you need to let your eyes checked." Just a little longer, then their auras should be nearly at their limit.

"And you should watch your mouth, filthy animal!" He shouted angrily and smacked Ice across her face. Her aura was the only thing that prevented the black eye as her head shot to the side.

She turned her face back to the Cardin and just grinned at him. She hoped she wouldn't hurt his two lackeys too badly. It would be bad if she got into trouble for injuring other students.

Silver boosted her attack with her aura and smacked her elbows in their faces. She may have overdone it. Ice could feel Dove's nose and Russel's jaw break before both of them crashed through the thin wall behind them. They won't get up soon. So much for not hurting them too badly.

Ice hadn't taken her eyes off of Cardin. She grinned wolfishly at him, baring her canine like teeth. The scar on her mouth twitched, making it more noticeable. There was a dangerous glint in her yellow eyes.

"Two down, two to go." She said while slowly coming closer to the remaining boys, like the predator she was. The faunus could smell their fear. It was visible too. Cardin hid his well but his eyes and slightly shaking fist gave it away. Sky was trembling like a leaf.

Silver suddenly stopped in her approach, her ears flicking in the direction down the corridor. The boys used this moment to attack. Their opponent dodged Sky's punch but Cardin's sent her flying. She landed hard on the floor and lay there for a moment before slowly getting up.

Cardin used this moment of weakness and charged at her. Her vicious smile before he smacked her unnerved him. Then he heard the clicking of heels and froze.

Glynda Goodwitch stood in the hallway, glaring at them. The boys gulped in fear.

The professor took the whole scene in before staring Cardin and Sky down again.

"You two take care of your teammates. I think they are in need of medical treatment. After that I want to see you and your team, Mr. Winchester." She ordered in a freezing tone.

"Y-yes, professor." Cardin stuttered. He and the other standing member of team CRDL took their comrades and fled the scene.

The professor repaired the damage in the hallway before turning to the silver head who gotten up meanwhile.

"Are you hurt, Ms. Silver?" She asked concerned.

"No, professor Goodwitch, I'm fine."

"Good. Such behavior is not acceptable. If something like this happens again, you will inform me instantly, understood?" Her normal cold tone back in an instance.

"Yes, professor."

"In this case follow me. I'm sure the headmaster wants to speak with you about this." With those words she turned and marched ahead.

The faunus sighed before she went after her. Just short before noon and this day was already going pretty bad.

* * *

Professor Ozpin scolded the silver wolf faunus a little but let her of the hook easily. Not like Goodwitch. She had chewed her out but thanks to the headmaster Silver didn't get any punishment.

It was already late for lunch so Ice was surprised when she saw team RWBY on their usual table. Silver went over to them after getting her meal.

They paused their conversation shortly to greet her. She used that moment to put something down in front of Yang. Said girl looked up to her questioningly before looking at the object. It was her yellow headphones.

She was staggered. "You went looking for them?"

"No. I just noticed them when I was leaving the library. Seems like you forgot them there." Ice simply explained. On her way out she noticed the smell of her friends still lingering on one of the tables. When she looked, Ice saw headphones laying there. Probably forgotten after what ever they did there in the library. Silver doubted they were studying. At last not all of them.

They was earbud headphones. They were easy to hide under the brawler's blond mane, so she can hear music in class or while studying with the others without it being noticed. It worked at least sometimes.

Yang thanked her before putting them away. "You do care for me." She teased. "You're so cute."

The wolf girl huffed but had no clue how to react to the statement. "Thanks… I think."

"It's adorable how you can't deal with even such a small compliment."

"I'm not used to this kind of thing." She defended herself while looking away.

"I think that's kind of cute." The busty girl had really fun teasing the silver head who was blushing a little.

"I think you teased the poor girl enough, Yang!" Weiss cut in angrily. She was jealous. This fact nearly brought the wolf faunus to chuckle. And she wasn't the only one to notice.

"No reason to get jealous, Weissy. You're cuter." The blonde winked at her. She found a new victim, much to Silver's relieve.

This comment made the heiress a sputtering and blushing mess. "I'm not jealous, you shameless brute!" She shouted before pointedly ignoring them.

Yang and Ruby giggled while Blake and Silver shared their amusement with smiles.

"So, where were we?" Ruby asked after she and Yang calmed down.

"You just told us how you and Blake went to the park." The blonde helped her sister out. They were talking about the conversation they had before Silver joined them.

"Right, Blake and I strolled through the park and just talked. We were about to go back when there was this shop. You know, Yang, the one with cool weapon parts. And I asked if we could take a look inside and Blake said yes!"

Said girl watched with a smile as Ruby told all this while gesticulated widely with her hands.

"And there was this really awesome part that I wanted for Crescent Rose and Blake bought it for me! Of course I upgraded her as soon as we got back!" Ruby was really exited about it. Silver couldn't believe how much the girl liked weapons.

Ruby turned to the wolf faunus. "I meant to ask you that for a while now, Silver, but I totally forgot about it."

"What is it?"

"You know, I never saw you fight with a weapon. Do you even have one? If so, what is it?"

"Leave it to the weapon nerd to bring this up." Her sister commented.

"Hey!" The young girl shouted at her before turning back to Silver. "Now tell!" Her excitement was clear in her voice and the sparkling in her eyes.

Ice smiled. "To answer your first question: yes. And the second: wait and you'll see."

"What? I want to know now!" The girl pouted.

"But if you have a weapon, why don't you use it?" Blake joined the conversation. "In the past you used a double-bladed sword. Your present fighting style differentiates a lot from back then."

"I lost my weapon soon after I arrived in Windpath. Or to be more accurate, it got stolen. I had to adapt. About not using my weapon. I made a bet. Five months without using any weapon. You could argue that it's pointless now. I won't see Cyan again, so he will never know and I will never win anything. But I still do it just to see if I could. And the fifth month ends in a few days."

"It's really reckless to do such a thing." The ravenette scolded.

Silver just shrugged.

"Cyan?" Yang questioned at the same time Ruby asked. "You do bet often, do you?"

"Every now and then." She answered Ruby before turning to Yang. "He was my partner."

Their food long finished, they talked and joked some more with Silver and Blake mostly watching the others interact.

"What happened to them?" Ruby asked. The group of five was about to leave when a really pissed looking Sky and Cardin walked past them. It probably wasn't the best idea to put salt into their wounds but Silver couldn't resist.

She grinned wolfishly at the two boys. "Told you so."

Cardin just seethed at her while passing.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked, her prior anger long forgotten.

"They thought they could surprise and outnumber me. Dove and Ruassel needed medical care and these two got into trouble with Goodwitch."

"And you got away with putting two students into the infirmary?"

"Goodwitch wasn't happy about it but after a lecture I was dismissed."

"That's cool but was it wise to taunt them more?" Yang asked concerned.

"Probably not." Silver admitted. But that made it just the more fun.

* * *

 **I want to thank everyone that took their time to review. Seeing that you like my story makes me happy and motivates me to write more. And yes, I did write. I'm a few chapters ahead actually buuut they need to get edited some(a lot) more.  
**

 **Minor spoiler(not really). That is not one of those OC-is-about-to-die-and-decide-to-finaly-confess-their-feelings-to-clueless-crush-fics. Yes, I'm thinking about you, Gaben, while I say that. I haven't forgotten about you.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

After a little morning training, the wolf faunus went to the city. The Vytal Fastival would start soon and then the streets would be full of people, even more than they already were. Silver used this day to explore the city some more. Classes start again tomorrow and team JNPR and RWBY had invited her to train with them. Even thought she didn't participate in the tournament she wouldn't slack off.

The wolf girl was strolling trough the streets, no particular destination in mind. She came across a shopping mall and thought about going in another direction but the sight of a familiar pair stopped her.

Nora was dragging Ren through the crowd. The ginger spotted the faunus and waved her over.

"Silver, you're here too. Ren and I just wanted to go into this sweet store over there." She pointed in the direction. "Want to come with us? You could help carry."

"I think I pass. Maybe some other time."

"Ooooh." She shrugged. "Your loss. They have reeeaaaallllyyyy good sweets." And with that she went off, taking the quiet boy with her and shouting a good bye over her shoulder.

Silver decided to just follow the street further, strolling through it, hands in her pockets.

She was about to leave the shopping mall when she noticed another person she knew.

"Hey, aren't you 'The Invincible Girl'? Quite the beauty if I dare say so. Want some company? I don't have anything to do." The poor attempt at a pickup line was aimed at Pyrrha.

The guy's brown hair was a bit messy and his dark eyes full of confidence. His cloth and posture made it obvious that he thought himself as really cool.

"Thank you, but you don't need to. I'm actually searching my friend. He got lost in the crowd."

"I can help you search. It would be my pleasure."

"I appreciate it but you don't have to. I don't want to trouble you." The redhead tried to politely decline.

"No trouble at all. I really want to help." He was persisting. The champion looked somewhat bothered by it. His pressing made her uncomfortable but she didn't want to be rude.

Silver suppressed the growl rising in her throat. What was this guy thinking hitting on her Pyrrha? And what was she thinking? She had no right to claim the amazon as hers. They were just friends. The thought stung a little.

The guy was about to reason why he should accompany the champion when he felt a hand land heavily on his shoulder. Both he and Pyrrha looked at the person it belonged to.

"Don't you see that you're bothering her?" Silver growled.

The guy got angry. "I'm not bothering her! And who are you to interrupt us?"

Her grip on his shoulder tightened while her tone stayed threatening. "She is just trying to be nice but you can't seem to take a hint. So I'll make it clear. Piss! Off!"

"Ice, it's fine." Pyrrha tried to calm the wolf faunus down. She put a hand on her shoulder and used her other pull Ice's hand from the boy.

He looked at Silver. She was around his height, with the shadow of her hood hiding most of her face. Her glowing yellow eyes the only thing he could make out as she glared at him. Ice clenched her jaw to stop herself from actually growling. The boy gulped in fear.

"Hey, I'm sorry, bro. I didn't know she's your girl. I'm already leaving." With that he made a quick getaway.

The silver head could feel a slight pang in her chest from his comment about Pyrrha being her girl. She really wanted it to be true.

"Thank you, Ice." Then the amazon asked her a slightly reproachful, her arms crossed. "But don't you think that was a little much?"

"Being polite clearly didn't help." Silver defended herself.

Pyrrha let her arms sink and sighed. "I'm sorry. You're right. I should've been more direct."

The faunus sheepishly scratched the back of her head, putting the hood down and hands back in her pockets afterward. "So, are you looking for Jaune? I met Ren and Nora before and when I saw you I thought that the whole team went to Vale, but he isn't here."

Pyrrha sighed again. "Yes. I lost sight of him in the crowd."

"And you didn't try contacting him? Or did he forget his scroll again?"

"He has it with him but he didn't pick up."

"I'm sure he is fine. Jaune can look after himself. And he can contact you anytime. So it shouldn't be a problem." The silver head tried to ease her worries.

"You're right. I shouldn't worry about him so much. He is a huntsman-in-training after all."

"I wanted to go to a café near here. It's a little of the main street, so it's more calm. Wanna come with me?" She couldn't help the small smile.

"That would be nice." The champion accepted with a smile of her own. "Lead the way."

The two went through a few small alleys before reaching said café. It was a little hard to find but it wasn't crowded and had a nice atmosphere.

"I found it by one of my walks through the city. It's really nice." Ice told her companion.

The café had big windows, which let a lot of sunlight in. The walls were light colored and there were plants to make it more inviting. Only few other patrons sat at the tables.

After the two girls sat down the waiter came to take their orders.

"I'm really sorry." The redhead started.

Ice was confused. "About what?"

"About before. You were only helping me and I shouldn't have reacted like I did."

"Hey, don't sweat it. I went a little over board. But he really didn't seem to notice that he wasn't welcome. Or just ignoring it." The faunus' brows furred.

Now the champion giggled, a sound that made Ice smile, and said. "He was really scared of you. It's easy to forget that you can be quite frightening. Thank you."

Ice wasn't sure if the last sentence was meant for her or their waiter who brought the drinks before leaving quietly. Or both.

Silver's smile turned into a grin. "Yeah. He ran faster than I thought he could. But I don't understand what made him say something like that." She looked down on her cup of coffee. The faunus' face heat up while she thought of his words.

"You mean about me being your girl?" The redhead's cheeks turned pink and she took a sip of her tea, the cup hiding her face. "Maybe because you were so… forward but I'm not sure what exactly made him think that you're a boy."

Again grinning, the silver head looked back at Pyrrha, leaning forward. "Weren't you the same? You and the others first thought I was a guy too. Not that I was really helping. With the boy's uniform and all."

The amazon's blush intensified. She was really cute like that. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I know how I appear to others. I'm tall for a woman and don't really have feminine curves. My baggy cloths hide my figure and the hood my face. My voice may sound a little unusual for a guy but is also pretty deep for a woman. And my name doesn't make it clear either." The wolf girl explained. She paused before she continued speaking. "Which reminds me. How come you call me by my first name?"

Pyrrha looked surprised by the question. "You call me by my first name too. And I'm not the only one doing so."

Ice leaned back on her chair. "Silver became somehow more of a nickname than surname for me. And Blake knows me from before that was the case."

"And why is it, that you got this nickname?" Pyrrha put her arms on the table, holding her cup in her hands. Silver more or less copied her posture without noticing. She really wanted to reach out for the other's hand.

"After Bark took me in he wanted me to interact with other people. So he introduced me to some. Mostly students at his Academy but also some others. One of them thought that Ice doesn't suit me. I'm not cold enough. Even thought I really wasn't a nice person back then." Silver frowned a little at that. "And she thought Silver was perfect for me, so she started calling me that. Not that I really cared. The others picked up on it and after some time they all called me Silver. I think she said it more as a joke though."

"And you've kept the nickname?"

"As you can see. My time in Tenebra wasn't all sunshine and rainbows but it was a new start in a better life. What I learned in Onyx wasn't just how to fight and such. It was a lot more. And I'm thankful for that." The faunus had an unusually fond smile on her face. The silence wasn't broken for some moments.

"Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?"

"Your time at Onyx Academy."

Silver thought for a bit, taking a sip of her coffee. "Yes and no. I miss the people there more than the place. Bark, Hakon and my team. I definitely don't miss always being careful with my faunus' heritage. Always having to worry if someone found out and the problems it could cause. You already heard one of those stories." Her right grabbed her left forearm.

Pyrrha looked apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't intend on reminding you of it."

The silver wolf girl sent her a soothing smile. "It's okay. Nothing to worry about. This wound just didn't have so much time to heal yet. But it soon will."

The redhead opened her mouth to response but was stopped by the ringing of her scroll.

"Sorry. Do you mind?" She asked while holding her scroll up.

The yellow eyed girl shook her head. "Not at all."

She leaned back in her chair and let her gaze wander, giving at last the impression of privacy, as she watched her friend from the corner of her eyes.

The amazon answered the call with a smile. "Hello, Jaune."

 _"Hi, Pyrrha. Sorry I didn't answer your call. I didn't notice my scroll was ringing. Where are you?"_

Ice had no problem hearing his response with her wolf ears. She felt only slightly bad for eavesdropping. And it wasn't like she was doing it on purpose.

Before the redhead could answer another voice rang trough the scroll.

 _"Hello Pyrrha!"_ An energetic greeting was shouted from the other end of the line.

 _"Nora! I'm on the scroll, so could you please stop shouting next to my ear!"_ The sound was now muffled. Jaune must have covered the microphone with his hand.

 _"But I wanted to say hello too!"_ The two girls in the café could image the pout the small girl must be showing now.

 _"But I can't hear her if you shout next to my ear!"_ Jaune's voice got clearer. _"Sorry about that. I found Nora and Ren while looking for you. We wanted to head back to Beacon. Nora is unstoppable. She insists we're going back."_

 _"Ren is going to make me pancakes when we get back!"_ Nora shouted in the background.

 _"We ate just an hour ago!"_

 _"But I want Ren's pancakes!"_

 _"That girl. So yeah, we're going back now. Should we meet up at the fountain in front of the big sweet store?"_

The champion smiled at the antics of her friends. "I'm on my way. See you soon."

 _"Later."_

The green eyed girl put her scroll away. "I'm sorry. I have to catch up with my team."

"Then you shouldn't let them wait." It didn't show in her voice but the faunus was disappointed her companion had to leave already.

Pyrrha smiled at her and reached for her wallet. Ice stopped her.

"Don't worry about it. My treat." The wolf girl gave her a lopsided smile.

The champion tried to object. "But-"

"I asked you to come with me. And it's not like it's much either." Which was a good thing. Ice was still low on Lien.

The girls held a short starring contest before the red haired one sighed. "Okay. But next time it will be my treat."

Silver smile widened, the sharp canines still gave her a slightly threatening look though.

"If that means there'll be a next time." She agreed.

The smile fell after Pyrrha left. Ice looked down on her coffee. Maybe she should leave too.

* * *

Ice made it just in time for the airship back to Beacon. She was about to search for a seat when Nora's overly energetic voice called for her.

"Now we ran into each other twice in not even two hours. Isn't that funny?" The ginger was hyper as usual.

"We do have the same destination in mind, so it's not surprising." Silver said flatly, sitting down next to them. Jaune was a little pale but tried his best to look okay.

"Killjoy." The ginger pouted.

"She's not wrong, Nora." Ren told her.

"You're going against me?"

The black haired boy rolled his eyes at his friend.

"For this betrayal you have to make me the double amount of pancakes as soon as we're back." Nora's indignation vanished as soon as it came.

Silver heard the amazon chuckle at that comment. It was a heavenly sound. But why did it have to be so hard not to look at her the whole time? It was nearly torture to not let her eyes wander over to the redhead. It felt like it got harder to hide her feelings each day.

The faunus was grateful for the distraction the quiet boy opposite her gave her.

"I wanted to ask you more about Tenebra, Silver, if you don't mind?" That drew the attention of the whole group to them.

"Depends on the questions."

"How is it possible that there is civilization on that continent after every attempted of colonization failed?"

"So you want to know more about its history? Where to begin? There isn't much known to a certain point but it's believed that there lived humans and faunus since nearly the beginning of their existence. Back then they were mostly nomads and lived in small tribes. Not the whole continent is habitable. Not even half of it. At least not for humans. Grimm are a different story.  
After they made survival harder the people formed bigger groups and settled down when they could. Of course that wasn't for every one. There're still nomads on Tenebra.  
They lived their lives there for a long time before the first colonization attempts were made. They didn't survive long. Only few found the small, not-Grimm-infected area on the continent. And those who did had to share with the natives and follow their rules. The colonists brought new technologies and other things like the color naming rule and the idea of Huntsman Academies, to name two.  
Now huntsman and huntresses protect the 'save haven' were everyone lives." The way Ice said 'save haven' was clearly sarcastic. "Tenebra is a place were humans can live normally as long as they don't leave the safe area. Though safe is a loosely used term."

"So as long as they stay in this safe place it's fine but as soon as they go, they're left to the Grimm?" Jaune summed up. He tried to distract himself by listening but he started to get a little green in the face. Ice worried he would puke soon.

"More or less. Depends on where they go. As long as nobody goes north they send search parties out, but nothing to big. It would only be a waste of men. Chances of getting found are small so they only search for a week, two at most. But if you go north you're on your own. You've all seen maps of Remnant. The part of Tenebra that's formed like a dragon is nothing more than sharp rocks and, farther in purple crystals. A barren wasteland.  
It's not really explored. The terrain is uninhabitable and there are more Grimm than on any other place on Tenebra. Maybe even Remnant. Nobody who went more than five miles into that area has ever returned. The teams who came back never made it without casualties. Even flying over it is dangerous. I don't know how many bullheads and airships were lost trying. So they stopped.  
Nevermores, Griffons, Wyverns, Death Stalkers and Beringels are only tiny problems compared with what else can be found there."

"You serious?" The blond asked clearly cowed. It didn't help his sickness.

"What are Wyvern?" The other boy wanted to know.

"Annoying flying fu-… Grimm. Though they're not the worse things, their screeches are bad enough for human ears let alone faunus'. Their screams are worse than that of a Nuckelavee" The silver head grimaced at the memory of such a screech.

"Have you fought them?" Pyrrha inquired.

"Yes. I even once ride one. Not voluntary and only for a short time. Crashed the damned beast into a cliff. It could still fight afterwards."

"That sounds fun!" The smallest of the girls exclaimed.

"Not really. How come you had to fight such a thing so early in the school year?" Jaune found that strange. Silver is like them in the first year and came shortly after the start of the second semester. They had their first mission not even a week ago.

"Onyx Academy isn't like Beacon. You go hunting Grimm just two weeks after the start of the first year."

"You can't be serious!" Jaune nearly shouted.

The faunus just shrugged. "Things are different there. You can't fight, you don't survive."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"That's why you have to be able to fight before you're accepted at Onyx." She turned from Jaune to Ren. "Have I answered your question sufficiently, Ren?"

He nodded. "Can I ask one more?"

"Sure."

"How come the people from Tenebra think about faunus like they do?"

Ice thought for a moment. "Tenebrans believe in the 'Deity Brothers'. Maybe you know that story. The two brothers that created mankind and Grimm. But before they created humanity there was another god, or was it goddess, it different between the faiths. Anyway, it was and still is believed by a large part of Tenebrans, that this god or goddess created the faunus to watch over nature. The faunus lived peacefully until the Grimm came. But even they didn't disturb them too much. But then humanity was created. While you all know how that ended for most faunus, things were different in Tenebra. Humans soon saw that faunus had more experience fighting the creatures of Grimm. They survived on that continent and the humans decided to learn from them. They noticed that not only did the faunus look different from them but also had better senses and didn't get sick so easily. The humans started to worship the faunus as higher beings who should guide them and help them survive.  
But that changed over time. The faunus' were better than them in some ways. They had abilities the humans wanted for themselves. And instead of wonderment they looked with envy at the faunus. At some point they decided to make those special traits theirs. They started to hunt faunus for that reason. They thought if they take something from the faunus they could get some abilities with it. This belief stayed until today and it turned into a strange mix of worship and greed. Even with the influence from the kingdoms that still hasn't changed. Worst are the ones that do that just for the profit.  
At least some people try to make a difference. But with how politics works in Tenebra, it's not easy."

"And how does it work? If I remember correctly you said there isn't a proper government in Tenebra." Pyrrha inquired.

"We have a small council but they barely got anything to say. The real power lays by the five richest families on Tenebra. They have the money and the means to rule over the people. The problem is, only one of those families is a faunus supporter and everyone knows that. That's why the other families try to relieve them of their position.  
Anything more you want to know?"

"Is it okay for you to tell us all that? You said the people from Tenebra don't want the kingdoms to know about them." Jaune asked.

"Nobody told me I can't do that. And seriously, who would believe all that? I'm surprised you don't question me. Anything else?"

Team JNPR looked from on member to the other, all shaking their heads.

"No, that is all." Ren answered.

"Good, because we just landed."

The airship had arrived and the first passengers were already leaving

"I have a question!" Nora had raised her hand like she would in class. "Can I touch your ears?"

Ren sighed at his partner's antics.

"No!" The answer came out harsher than Ice wanted.

The five students got up while Nora practical whined. "Why not? They look so cute and fluffy. I want to touch them."

"I don't like it when people touch them. They're petty sensitive. I don't even know how often someone pulled my ears or tried to burn, rip, or cut them off. One coming uncomfortably close to the last." The faunus said while twitching her scarred, left wolf ear.

"Someone actually tried to burn your ears?" The amazon asked horrified.

"Four times, actually. The keyword is tried. The nearest someone came was singing my fur." The silver head kept looking forward. "Can we not talk about that?"

JNPR agreed. The five walked the rest of the way to Beacon mostly in silence.


	10. Chapter 10

The time until the start of the tournament was relatively uneventful. The huntsmen and huntresses in training had some more missions and lots of classes in that time, but nothing like the 'Breach' happened again.

RWBY, JNPR and SSSN went out to celebrate their victories on the team rounds.

Things between Sun and Blake were slowly going back to normal but there was still tension. And twelve people were a little much for Silver so she decided to not go with them.

Of course she wouldn't mind spending time with her friends but maybe it was better. It hurt to see how Pyrrha kept looking at Jaune. And as much as Ice was happy for those two, it was still always a reminder of what she couldn't have when she saw Ruby and Blake together.

Instead she went into the simulation room to train.

Wave after wave of simulated Grimm were sent at her. It started with simple Beowolves and Creeps but with each wave they got stronger and more. Boarbatusks and Ursai were added. The group of two Ursai Minor, a Boarbatusk, four Creeps, and some Beowolves were no problem for the silver wolf faunus but her aura was already drained from the fights before.

She was panting hard when she cut down the last Grimm of this wave. She could hold herself for about ten minutes against the next one, but one Ursa hit her. The simulation ended with the near deletion of Ice's aura.

She felt like dropping to the ground but instead went over to get her bottle of water. The wall supported her weight while she drank slowly. She kept herself from emptying the whole bottle in one go.

Silver overdid it a little with her training, she had worked out before starting the fight simulation. And now she needed a shower and some sleep. She was really tired.

On the way to her room she ran into Nora who chewed her ear off. The ginger talked about the tournament, the fights, the celebration, about everything that came to her mind until they reached her door. Not for the first time did the silver head wonder where the girl got all the energy from.

After the shower Silver noticed how hungry she was. So she decided to eat dinner before going to bed. Sleep had to wait because her stomach couldn't.

To the faunus' surprise Pyrrha, Jaune, Yang, Sun and Neptune sat at their usual table. Yang and the boys from SSSN were throwing food at each other and catching it with their mouths. The two members from team JNPR talked about schoolwork.

"Hey Silver. Did you see our fight? Pretty awesome, right?" Sun didn't wait for the wolf girl to sit down before asking.

"I did. I find it ironic that Neptune is afraid of water. But you did not bad." She smirked at the blue-nnet.

"Hey! I'm _not_ afraid of water!" He protested but was simply ignored.

"What do you mean 'not bad'? That was an awesome fight! We totally kicked their butts!" The blond faunus protested.

Silver rolled her eyes, sarcasm clear in her voice. "Yeah, I saw."

Yang interfered before the monkey boy could response. "What were you up to while we were celebrating, Silver?"

"I spent some hours in the simulation room. No reason to slack of while you have fun in the tournament."

"Is that why you look so tired?" The redhead asked.

"And have enough food for three?" The busty blonde added.

"Yeah. I'm not staying long. I'm really tired." Ice answered before turning her attention to her food. Mostly meat with some side dishes.

"Does your faunus heritage influence your eating habits? I ask because Blake likes fish, Sun bananas and you mostly eat nearly raw meat." Yang inquired.

The yellow eyed girl nodded and swallowed her mouthful. "It does affect our preferred dishes. But we can still eat the same things as humans do. There're exceptions just like some humans have, but that's rare. And also" She fleshed her sharp fangs. "Try eating a salad with these teeth."

"But I saw you eating salad before." Jaune stated.

"And it's not easy to do so. These are the teeth of a predator, not an herbivore."

"Good point."

Ice didn't take part in the next conversations, instead devouring her meal and leaving the others to finely get some much needed sleep.

* * *

Silver closed her book. It was futile. She couldn't concentrate on it.

The silver haired faunus came to the library in search of her feline friend. She wanted to talk to her.

With each day Ice's feelings for a certain redhead grew and it got harder to keep them inside, to not show them and keep them hidden. Sometimes it felt like they were suffocating her. It frustrated the girl. She needed to do something about it.

While letting her anger out helped it wasn't a permanent solution. She couldn't just confess her feeling for Pyrrha but she still had to talk about it. And the only person she could do that with was Blake.

But as she found her, the ravenette was sitting in a comfy chair in a secluded place in the library. Her girlfriend curled up against her.

Silver hadn't wanted to interrupt their alone time. She was sure with their teammates they didn't get enough.

So she tried to distract herself with a book. But that wasn't working. She had to do something against the pent up frustration. And the best thing she came up with was training. So she left the library.

Team RWBY and JNPR were sparring in the training area.

Silver must have spent more time in the library than she realized because the two brunettes were here with their teammates.

Tomorrow were the double rounds. Yang, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Nora were chosen from their teams to fight. At that moment they practiced in these partner combos. Weiss and Yang fought against the red and black pair. The energetic girl and the champion against Ren. Jaune was already defeated. The raven haired boy soon followed. He didn't stand a chance alone against the two girls.

"I don't think we have to worry too much. Nobody is strong enough to win against us! Right, Pyrrha?" The ginger cheered. "We're awesome!"

"And I still beat you with one hit. You shouldn't forget there are not only first years fighting in the tournament. There are strong opponents you could face." Silver argued.

The small girl pouted. "You only won because you caught me off guard!"

Silver rolled her eyes. "That's called a strategy. That's part of what makes me a good fighter."

"If you're so good why don't you show us? You haven't fought against Pyrrha yet." Nora was still pouting.

Silver's ears perked up at that. She sized the redhead up, happy to have an excuse to let yellow eyes roam freely over her.

A nearby display showed that her aura was still nearly full.

"Ok." The silver head agreed. "If she wants to."

"I would love to." The amazon said.

Nora grinned at that. Expecting to see the faunus get painfully defeated.

Ice had seen what the champion is capable of. She knew her Semblance. Pyrrha hadn't seen what she was able to do. The wolf girl had the advantage. But Pyrrha was an excellent fighter. That would be a hard match and that prospect excited Silver.

Both combatants got ready.

The metal at Silver's boots and her bracers were adversely but that couldn't be changed now. She could still give the champion a hard time. Maybe even win if she played her cards right.

The silver wolf faunus was the first to attack. Beginning the match with a kick to her opponent's head.

Pyrrha ducked underneath it. But Ice expected the move and changed her attack, forcing the redhead to block with her shield.

Ice followed it with a quick series of kicks, the champion blocking and dodging all of them until she found an opening. A shove from Akouo brought the silver haired girl out of balance. Milo in xiphos form came at her in an upwards arc.

Silver blocked with her bracer before trying to sweep the amazon's feet out from under her. Pyrrha jumped, avoiding the attack and blocking the next before changing into offensive.

They exchanged some more blows, Ice getting hit a few times. But she held herself against the champion, which was already an amazing feat.

When Pyrrha blocked another kick with Akouo, Silver pushed off the shield and brought herself to a safe distance.

Ice grinned at the redhead. "Seems like I really need to step my game up." She said and charged at the champion again.

Pyrrha defended herself against her kicks but was totally surprised when she saw Ice's fist aiming at her face. Silver didn't attack with her fists.

The amazon tried to dodge the blow but something cold grazed her. At the same time the faunus had struck at her stomach with the elbow of her other arm. It didn't reach but something sharp did. If it wasn't for her aura the redhead would've been cut.

Pyrrha brought some distance between them. The silver wolf faunus took a different stance than usual. Now the amazon saw the two blades her opponent held.

The hilt was at the side. The blade followed her forearm and went on. This part was single-edged. From the hilt the blade continued into the other direction double-edged. This part went a few inches over the hand holding the weapon. A similar sword was in Ice's left.

Dust, was Silver relieved that the five months were over. This fight would be an impossible feat without weapons.

There was mumbling beside the combatants. RWBY stopped their training in favor for watching the two girls spare. They and the other members of JNPR followed the match attentively. Even some other students had come over to see the fight.

The faunus girl attacked again but this time in a complete different style. She didn't use her boots but her swords. Her whole movements were different. They were more fluid than before, more graceful. It came more natural to Silver. She never made a movement more than necessary. It was nearly like a dance, one that could easily end deadly. But that was just a sparring match and the amazon was an incredible fighter.

Pyrrha realized that that was her actual combat style. That's how Ice normally fought.

The sudden change of fighting patterns gave the champion a few troubles at first. But Pyrrha was an experienced fighter, so she adapted fast.

After the faunus strikes didn't hit she changed her style again. But this time not so drastic.

She sometimes threw her weapons and caught them from a different position, attacking from another angle.

Ice did just a few of those moves before putting a little distance between her and the champion. She smirked and pulled her arms back.

The redhead's hands were bound together before she could react. She felt something tighten around her wrists. Pyrrha had to use her aura to prevent it from cutting into her unprotected arm and hands.

When she looked, she saw wires wound around her wrists. They were so thin they were barely visible. A closer look let her see four strings connected to the silver wolf's fists. Each hand two. The wires came from the handle the amazon realized.

When Silver threw her blades, it was to prepare the wires to bind her.

The wolf girl came at her again but Pyrrha managed to stay out of reach from her attacks.

Wait! Something wasn't right. Pyrrha's aura dropped faster than it should. The wires were absorbing her aura. She needed to get rid of them, and fast.

The champion concentrated as much as she could at using her Semblance. It was not easy. She had to avoid getting hit, keep the strings from cutting into her arms and she could feel her aura leaving her body. But she managed to use her Polarity on the wires and freed herself.

The faunus winded the strings in. She needed to draw the fight out if she wanted to win. Silver was a good fighter but Pyrrha was better. Her best chances were to keep this match going and let the champions aura fall into the red.

Pyrrha was aware that she had to end this fast. Her aura was nearly down to the point that ends the match. If she wanted to keep her record of winning all her fights she needed to end this on quickly.

They clashed again and exchanged blow after blow. The redhead more in the offensive and her opponent mostly in the defensive. But the amazon still landed some hits. She broke through Silver's defense and sent her to the floor.

The fight ended with Milo at Ice's throat. Both combatants were panting heavily but still smiled at each other.

Silver was defeated by the champion. Pyrrha really deserved that title. Her excellent fighting skills made the amazon only more attractive in the faunus' eyes. And the smile on her lips after a challenging fight made the annoying butterflies come back. Ice couldn't look away.

After a moment of silence, the only sound Pyrrha's and Ice's heavy breathing, applause was heard. Only now did those two notice they had an audience.

"This was a good fight. For a moment I really thought you got me there." The red haired girl was impressed. She lowered her weapon and reached out her hand to help her friend up.

Silver grinned and took the appendage. She had a lot of fun, and it was a great fight. "Thanks. You're pretty good. No wonder you're undefeated. I thought I could win this match. I clearly had the surprise moment."

"That's right. If it weren't for my experience you would have won. I never saw you fight with a weapon before. And after I saw your matches I thought your weapon had something to do with your boots. I never expected something like this. Can I take a look at your blades?"

"Can I too?" Came an exited voice from beside them.

The sudden smell of roses and the red flesh was more than enough to know that Ruby used her Semblance to stand next to Pyrrha.

The brunette had stars in her eyes as she looked up at Silver pleadingly.

"Of course you would ask." Silver sighed and gave one blade to the amazon and the other to Ruby.

Both girls inspected the strange swords in their hands. One had a white blade and black hilt the other a white hilt and black blade. Other than that they were the same.

A wolf head was engraved near the haft on the longer part of the blade. It was the same wolf head that was on the inside of Silver's bracers. Her emblem.

The shorter part of the blade was double-edged but had a dulled part were it came into contact with the hand holding it. There was a ring at the haft were the index would be.

Ruby armed herself with the sword. She pulled her fingers away from the haft and the wire stretched from the ring on her index to the hilt.

"There's spools inside the hilt with as much wire as I could fit into it." Ice explained.

"Spools, as in more than one? Why?" The weapon nerd asked while doing some practice slashes. It looked a little clumsy. She obviously wasn't used to this type of weapons.

"Two, one on each side. Have you noticed the slit in the hilt?"

Ruby nodded.

Pyrrha gave the other blade back and Ice armed herself with it. "The haft can fold and positioned like by a normal sword." The faunus explained. She stretched her fingers from the haft, still holding it with her palm and thumb, and the blade snapped into the hilt. The shorter part of the blade was now mostly covered. Two inches looked out from the bottom of the hilt.

With a swift move Silver rotated the sword around her hand and held it with the long blade on top, her pinky looped through the ring.

Ruby's eyes shined even more.

"Careful there. You better keep an eye on her before our weapon nerd steals your sword." Yang joked.

The members from team RWBY and JNPR had come over to them. The other spectators had scattered and continued their own training.

"I won't do that!" The cloaked girl shouted at her sister. "I would never think of replacing my sweetheart!" She pulled her scythe out to hug it to her chest.

"That was awesome guys! You're better than I thought, Silver. I thought Pyrrha would wipe the floor with you!" Nora nearly shouted.

"So that's why you wanted me to fight her." The wolf girl sighed.

"That was impressive. You know how to use your advantages. Too bad Pyrrha is such a skilled fighter." The white haired girl surprised everyone with her compliment.

"To hear something like that from you, Weiss. Is the ice queen melting?" The busty brawler teased.

Weiss' face turned red as she scoffed and turned around. "What ever. Let's continue our training. We still have to prepare for our double round."

Ruby ruefully gave back the sword and went after her team who took a free area to start a new round fighting.

"Have your weapons names?" Nora asked suddenly.

Ice lifted the black blade. "Hope." Then the white. "Despair."

"Those are unusual names." The redhead commented.

"It's more about the meaning they have for me."

"Tell more!" Nora requested, nearly demand.

"I forged those weapons after Bark took me in." Silver again lifted the white blade. "Despair, for what I left behind after he decided to take care of me." And what she wanted her opponents to feel.

And then she lifted the black. "And Hope, for what he gave me." And what she wanted to take from her enemies.

"That is really thoughtful of you." Pyrrha said.

"Silver is a big softy!" Nora laughed then turned to the others. "I think we're ready for our match tomorrow. Let's eat something!"

With that she run off, Jaune in tow, trying to slow her down. Ren sighed before following after them.

The champion stayed and eyed the faunus girl. "How did you absorb my aura? Is that your Semblance?"

Silver stowed her weapons under her hoodie and smirked. "Yes and no. It's not really my Semblance but a very useful part of it. To be honest this is how I use it most. In nearly every fight. At least against persons. On Grimm it doesn't work."

"Is that how you win so easily? You absorb your opponent's aura?"

"Yes, but as you saw, I'm also a good fighter. It's the reason I have so much aura left at the end. I stock up my own with my opponent's aura."

"What is your Semblance?" Pyrrha was really curious about that.

Silver's smirk grew. "There are some secrets I like to keep. How am I supposed to defeat you some day if I don't have some tricks up my sleeve?" The question was rhetorical. "You could say, in a way, my Semblance is Aura."

Every other of her 'tricks' would be over the top for a friendly match. But it could have brought Ice her victory. Or brought her defeat a lot faster.

"Can you still tell me a little more?" The red haired girl asked with genuine interest.

The wolf girl thought over it for a bit. "Image you have two resources of aura. One is your normal storage. It'll fill itself over time like by any other person. The second is normally empty. But you can fill it with the aura you absorb from others or from your normal storage but it won't replace the lost aura by itself. If both resources are full I can't save more. I either use it or it gets lost because I can't hold onto it forever. I tend to keep the second storage filled to a fourth so I have some extra I can use and can still fill it with my opponent's aura in a fight.  
The display can't separate them. If my aura is full the display shows it like that. If I have extra it will display the current amount as hundred percent and works with that."

"That's fascinating. How much aura can you save like that?"

"Not so much. It's a lot less than my natural aura. Maybe a fifth? If even that. It's hard to say."

"Still, it does sound pretty useful."

"It is." The silver haired girl turned her head away for a moment. She considerate her next words but decided to not go further into the subject.

"Should we hit the showers and get dinner?" She asked instead.

"That would be a good idea." The amazon agreed with a nod.


End file.
